Mesolithic Cave Use in Greece and the Mosaic of Human Communities

Authors

  • Nena Galanidou University of Crete

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v24i2.219

Keywords:

Greece, Mesolithic, caves, chronology, lithic industries

Abstract

This paper discusses the Greek Mesolithic record in the light of refinements to the international calibration curve and recent archaeological research. Central to the discussion are the time frame used for this period of Greek prehistory, and the diagnostic potential, or visibility, of Mesolithic stone tools. Rather than offering a comprehensive account of Mesolithic sites across Greece, this study focuses on a few known cave sites in the northwest, in order to bring out some less pronounced aspects of their material record. Close and comparative examination of their radiocarbon dates, and traits of continuity and change in the lithic industries, highlights a regional pattern. At some sites, occupation extended into the Holocene, but there is little or no contrast to the preceding, late Upper Palaeolithic technological traditions. A working hypothesis to account for the geographic, temporal and cultural diversity of early Holocene sites and finds in Greece is thus spelled out. It is proposed that the Greek Mesolithic record is the manifestation of a mosaic of human groups, of different origins and cultural traditions, subsisting on a variety of resources and living in different regions, at different times and seasons of the early Holocene.

Author Biography

  • Nena Galanidou, University of Crete
    Nena Galanidou took her PhD at Cambridge University in 1996. She is Associate Professor of Prehistoric Archaeology in the Department of History and Archaeology, University of Crete. Her research concentrates on spatial, social and technological aspects of the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic in southeast Europe, where she has conducted extensive fieldwork. With Catherine Perlès, she co-edited The Greek Mesolithic: Problems and Perspectives (London: British School at Athens, 2003). She is currently engaged in Stone Age research in the Ionian islands, Crete and Lesvos.

Published

2011-12-02

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Galanidou, N. (2011). Mesolithic Cave Use in Greece and the Mosaic of Human Communities. Journal of Mediterranean Archaeology, 24(2), 219-242. https://doi.org/10.1558/jmea.v24i2.219

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