Theopetra cave

Theopetra cave
Location:	southeast of Kalambaka , Thessaly , Greece
Geographic ; location:	39 ° 40 '57 " N , 21 ° 40' 54.9" E Coordinates: 39 ° 40 '57 " N , 21 ° 40' 54.9" E
Geology:	limestone

The Theopetra Cave (Theopetra: God rock) is located 3 km southeast of Kalambaka in Meteora in Thessaly , Greece , on the north-eastern side of a limestone - Formation . Immediately to the south is the village of Theopetra ( Greek Θεόπετρα ), which has a population of around 500 and belongs to the Vasiliki district of the Meteora municipality .

Finds such as fire and footprints in 130,000 year old sediment layers in the 500 m² cave suggest that they began in the Middle Paleolithic and in the subsequent periods of the Upper Paleolithic , the Middle Stone Age and the New Stone Age (i.e. between the Pleistocene and Holocene ) of humans and animals was used.

The limestone formation in which the Theopetra Cave is located.

Finds

The limestone formation, with the formation 135–65 million years ago, is assigned to the Upper Cretaceous . The excavations began in 1987 and lasted until 2008, with a 3-year break between 2002 and 2005. After the cave was opened to the public as a sight in 2009, it was closed again in 2010 when an approximately 23,000 year old stone wall was discovered. According to the Greek Ministry of Culture, this masonry is the oldest structure in Greece to date.

From the organic (hominid) material found in the cave, the presence of humans in the cave 46330 (± 1590) years ago was determined by means of radiocarbon analysis.

Likewise, the Theopetra Cave contained a series of artifacts from the Middle Paleolithic , Upper Paleolithic , Mesolithic and Neolithic .

The paleoecology and botany were expanded by the sediments deposited on site .

Archaeogenetics

In 2016, researchers deciphered the DNA of two individuals' shin bones stored at the site . In addition, the approximate lifetime of the two individuals could be the Mesolithic , around 7605–7529 BC. Chr. And 7288-6771 v. Be narrowed down. Both DNAs could be assigned to haplogroup K (mtDNA) .

Individual evidence

↑ Panagiotis Karkanas, Dustin White, Christine S. Lane, Chris Stringer, William Davies, Victoria L. Cullen, Victoria C. Smith, Maria Ntinou, Georgia Tsartsidou, Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika: Tephra correlations and climatic events between the MIS6 / 5 transition and the beginning of MIS3 in Theopetra Cave, central Greece . In: Quaternary Science Reviews . 118, June 2015, pp. 170-181. doi : 10.1016 / j.quascirev.2014.05.027 .
↑ Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB), geographical code 2602030201.
^ The Theopetra Cave in Thessaly: a 130,000 year old prehistory (Part 1). In: Archeology Wiki. October 5, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2019 (American English).
↑ ^a ^b Georgia Tsartsidou, Panagiotis Karkanas, Gilbert Marshall, Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika: palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and flora exploitation at the Palaeolithic cave of Theopetra, central Greece: the evidence from phytolith analysis . In: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences . Volume 7, Number 2, June 2015, pp. 169-185, doi : 10.1007 / s12520-014-0183-6 .
↑ ^a ^b Yorgos Facorellis, Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika, Yannis Maniatis: The Cave of Theopetra, Kalambaka: Radiocarbon Evidence for 50,000 Years of Human Presence . In: Radiocarbon . Volume 43, number 2B, 2001, pp. 1029-1048, doi : 10.1017 / S0033822200041692 .
↑ Ardaens, E .: Geology de la chaine du Vardussia, comparaison avec le massif du Koziakas (Grèce Continentale) . 1978.
↑ Karkanas, P .: Lithostratigraphy and micromorphology of Theopetra cave deposits, Thessaly, Greece: Some preliminary results. 1999.
↑ ^a ^b Jochen Duckeck: Spilia Theopetra - Theopetra Cave , showcaves.com, accessed on February 13, 2019.
^ Wall discovered in central Greece could be world's oldest , ekathimerini.com, March 28, 2010.
↑ Oldest Man Made Structure Found In Greece , News Network Archeology, March 31, 2010.
^ N. Kyparissi-Apostolika: The significance of Theopetra cave for Greek prehistory . In: Préhistoire d 'Anatolie Genèse de Deux Mondes 1998, pp. 241-252.
^ N. Kyparissi-Apostolika: The palaeolithic deposits of Theopetra cave in Thessaly (Greece) . In: The Palaeolithic Archeology of Greece and Adjacent Areas 1999, pp. 232-239.
↑ Zuzana Hofmanová et al .: Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . tape 113 , no. 25 , June 21, 2016, ISSN 0027-8424 , p. 6886–6891 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.1523951113 , PMID 27274049 ( pnas.org [accessed February 12, 2019]).

[1] Panagiotis Karkanas, Dustin White, Christine S. Lane, Chris Stringer, William Davies, Victoria L. Cullen, Victoria C. Smith, Maria Ntinou, Georgia Tsartsidou, Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika: Tephra correlations and climatic events between the MIS6 / 5 transition and the beginning of MIS3 in Theopetra Cave, central Greece . In: Quaternary Science Reviews . 118, June 2015, pp. 170-181. doi : 10.1016 / j.quascirev.2014.05.027 .

[VZ2011-2] Results of the 2011 census at the National Statistical Service of Greece (ΕΛ.ΣΤΑΤ) (Excel document, 2.6 MB), geographical code 2602030201.

[3] The Theopetra Cave in Thessaly: a 130,000 year old prehistory (Part 1). In: Archeology Wiki. October 5, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2019 (American English).

[tsartsidou-4] Georgia Tsartsidou, Panagiotis Karkanas, Gilbert Marshall, Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika: palaeoenvironmental reconstruction and flora exploitation at the Palaeolithic cave of Theopetra, central Greece: the evidence from phytolith analysis . In: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences . Volume 7, Number 2, June 2015, pp. 169-185, doi : 10.1007 / s12520-014-0183-6 .

[:0-5] Yorgos Facorellis, Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika, Yannis Maniatis: The Cave of Theopetra, Kalambaka: Radiocarbon Evidence for 50,000 Years of Human Presence . In: Radiocarbon . Volume 43, number 2B, 2001, pp. 1029-1048, doi : 10.1017 / S0033822200041692 .

[6] Ardaens, E .: Geology de la chaine du Vardussia, comparaison avec le massif du Koziakas (Grèce Continentale) . 1978.

[7] Karkanas, P .: Lithostratigraphy and micromorphology of Theopetra cave deposits, Thessaly, Greece: Some preliminary results. 1999.

[:1-8] Jochen Duckeck: Spilia Theopetra - Theopetra Cave , showcaves.com, accessed on February 13, 2019.

[9] Wall discovered in central Greece could be world's oldest , ekathimerini.com, March 28, 2010.

[10] Oldest Man Made Structure Found In Greece , News Network Archeology, March 31, 2010.

[11] N. Kyparissi-Apostolika: The significance of Theopetra cave for Greek prehistory . In: Préhistoire d 'Anatolie Genèse de Deux Mondes 1998, pp. 241-252.

[12] N. Kyparissi-Apostolika: The palaeolithic deposits of Theopetra cave in Thessaly (Greece) . In: The Palaeolithic Archeology of Greece and Adjacent Areas 1999, pp. 232-239.

[13] Zuzana Hofmanová et al .: Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans . In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . tape 113 , no. 25 , June 21, 2016, ISSN 0027-8424 , p. 6886–6891 , doi : 10.1073 / pnas.1523951113 , PMID 27274049 ( pnas.org [accessed February 12, 2019]).