Supervisors info:
Κουρτέση-Φιλιππάκη Γεωργία, Αναπληρώτρια Καθηγήτρια Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Χασιακού Αφροδίτη, Λέκτορας Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Βαβουρανάκης Γεώργιος, Επίκουρος Καθηγητής Προϊστορικής Αρχαιολογίας, Τμήμα Ιστορίας και Αρχαιολογίας, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
The present thesis constitutes a synthesis of all the known data, concerning the Mesolithic Period in Greece, and its main purpose is to make suggestions and propose alternative meanings concerning the settlement and habitation patterns, as well as the subsistence strategies of the Mesolithic people.
At first we attempt to trace the origins of the term “mesolithic” by taking a historical enquiry from the 18th century, where the first clues for its existence are stated, until the 20th century, when it is finally recognized as a discrete stage in the course of human evolution. The respective clues for the existence of a Mesolithic Period in Greece, are quite recent. The quest begins in the 1920’s when Adalbert Markovits excavates the caves of Zaimis and Ulbrich in Megaris and continues in the 1970’s, with the excavations of Sidari in Corfu and Franchthi cave in Argolis The greek sites, containing Mesolithic finds, bear both similarities and differences, regarding natural environment, type of site (cave, rockshelter or open site), as much as the quantity and diversity of finds, the last being affected by a number of issues, such as the disproportion between excavations and surface surveys, the continuity/discontinuity of the stratigraphic sequence in several sites, and the absence of complete publications in some cases. Added to these, are a number of methodological problems, such as the lack or shortage of absolute dates and the discordance among archaeologists, about the boundary between Lower and Upper Mesolithic.
After the account of all the available archaeological data, follows the discussion of some issues which are strongly related to the Mesolithic “personality” of the greek sites. First come the analysis of the aforementioned methodological problems and then some more subjects are questioned: palaeoclimate and paleoenvironment, settling in new areas, supposed preference in island settlements, the delineation of networks based on the distribution of raw materials, and finally, thw peculiar cultural traits of the circular or ellipsoid structures in Maroulas, Kythnos. What is considered very important, is the supposed tendency for settling in sites near the sea. The final stage of the discussion, concerns the transitional period, between Mesolithic and Neolithic, as we try to discern changes in settlement patterns and subsistence strategies.
Concluding, one can discern an ongoing fragmrentation of archaeological data, instead of a kind of geographical and cultural entity, covering the greek Mesolithic. The observed similarities need to be clarified by solving some of the issues mentioned, while some new suggestions are stated for future research, which have the potential to come forward as explanatory.
Keywords:
Mesolithic, excavations, surface surveys, absolute dating, relative dating, insularity, settling, caves, open sites, obsidian, networks, intermediate period, Neolithic, subsistence strategies, settlement patterns, Greece
