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Franchthi Cave revisited: the age of the Aurignacian in south-eastern Europe

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2011

K. Douka ,
C. Perlès ,
H. Valladas ,
M. Vanhaeren  and
R.E.M. Hedges
K. Douka*
Affiliation:
1Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
C. Perlès
Affiliation:
2Université Paris Ouest, Maison de l'Archéologie et de l'Ethnologie, Préhistoire et Technologie, 21 Allée de l'Université, 92023, Nanterre Cedex, France
H. Valladas
Affiliation:
3Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement (LSCE/IPSL), CEA-CNRS-UVSQ, Bâtiment 12, Avenue de la Terrasse, 91198, Gif-sur-Yvette Cedex, France
M. Vanhaeren
Affiliation:
4CNRS UMR 5199 PACEA, Préhistoire, Paléoenvironment, Patrimoine, Université Bordeaux 1, CNRS, Bât. B18, Avenue des Facultés, 33405, Talence, France
R.E.M. Hedges
Affiliation:
1Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, Dyson Perrins Building, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
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Extract

The Aurignacian, traditionally regarded as marking the beginnings of Sapiens in Europe, is notoriously hard to date, being almost out of reach of radiocarbon. Here the authors return to the stratified sequence in the Franchthi Cave, chronicle its lithic and shell ornament industries and, by dating humanly-modified material, show that Franchthi was occupied either side of the Campagnian Ignimbrite super-eruption around 40000 years ago. Along with other results, this means that groups of Early Upper Palaeolithic people were active outside the Danube corridor and Western Europe, and probably in contact with each other over long distances.

Keywords

GreeceAurignacianUpper Palaeolithicradiocarbonshell ornamentslithics
Type
Research article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 85 , Issue 330 , December 2011 , pp. 1131 - 1150
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2011

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