Alepotrypa Cave at Diros Bay, Lakonia, Greece, is a massive karstic formation of consecutive chambers ending at a lake. The cave was excavated by G. Papathanassopoulos from 1970 to 2006. In conjunction with the surrounding area, it was used as a complementary habitation area, burial site, and place for ceremonial activity during the Neolithic c 6000 to 3200 BC. As a sealed, single-component, archaeological site, the Neolithic settlement complex of Alepotrypa Cave is one of the richest sites in Greece and Europe in terms of number of artifacts, preservation of biological materials, volume of undisturbed deposits, and horizontal exposure of archaeological surfaces of past human activity and this publication is an important contribution to ongoing archaeological research of the Neolithic Age in Greece in particular, but also in Anatolia, the Balkans and Europe in general.
This edited volume offers a full scholarly interdisciplinary study and interpretation of the results of approximately 40 years of excavation and analysis. It includes numerous chemical analyses and a much needed long series of radiocarbon dates, the corresponding microstratigraphic, stratigraphic and ceramic sequence, the human burials, stone and bone tools, faunal and floral remains, isotopic analyses, specific locations of human activities and ceremonies inside the cave, as well as a site description and the history of the excavation conducted by G. Papathanasopoulos.
Author(s): Anastasia Papathanasiou, William A. Parkinson, Daniel J. Pullen, Michael L. Galaty, Panagiotis Karkanas
Publisher: Oxbow Books
Year: 2018
Language: English
Pages: xix, 435, 32
City: Oxford ; Havertown, PA
Tags: Excavations (Archaeology)--Greece--Alepotrypa Cave; Cave dwellings--Greece; Neolithic period--Greece; Alepotrypa Cave (Greece).
List of illustrations vii
List of tables xi
List of colour plates xiii
List of contributors xiv
Memories of Alepotrypa Cave, Diros (George Papathanassopoulos) xvi
1. Introduction 1
Anastasia Papathanasiou
2. Alepotrypa Cave: the site description and its cultural and chronological range 10
Anastasia Papathanasiou
3. Stratigraphy and site formation processes of Alepotrypa Cave 24
Panagiotis Karkanas
4. The stratigraphic and pottery sequence of Trench B1 at Alepotrypa Cave: a first approach to the investigation of ceramic and chronological associations 33
Barbara Katsipanou-Margeli
5. When do the dead become dead? Mortuary projects from Ossuaries I and II, Alepotrypa Cave 91
Stella Katsarou
6. Patterns of pottery consumption, destruction and deposition at Alepotrypa Cave: the case of Chamber Z during the Neolithic period 127
Katerina Psimogiannou
7. Pithoi with relief decoration from Alepotrypa Cave 158
George Valvis
8. The Alepotrypa Cave pottery assemblage: a ceramic petrology approach 163
Areti Pentedeka
9. The chipped stone industries of Alepotrypa Cave: a general presentation 179
Georgia Kourtessi-Philippakis
10. Macrolithics: ordinary things in an extraordinary place 201
Anna Stroulia
11. Patterns of exploitation and exchange: preliminary compositional results of the obsidian assemblage from Alepotrypa Cave 242
Danielle J. Riebe
12. Neolithic bone and antler artefacts from Alepotrypa Cave 253
Georgia Stratouli
13. The people of Alepotrypa 260
Anastasia Papathanasiou
14. The macrofaunal assemblage of Alepotrypa Cave 272
Angelos Hadjikoumis
15. Radiogenic strontium isotope results from the burials of Alepotrypa Cave 306
Julia I. Giblin
16. The plant remains from Alepotrypa Cave: use, discard and structured deposition 316
Evi Margaritis
17. The exploitation of marine animal resources at Alepotrypa Cave: harvesting strategies, management and uses 327
Tatiana Theodoropoulou
18. Phytolith analysis from the sediments of Alepotrypa Cave 360
Georgia Tsartsidou
19. Wood charcoal analysis from the sediments of Alepotrypa Cave 373
Maria Ntinou
20. The microfauna from Alepotrypa Cave 391
Katerina Papayianni and Thomas Cucchi
21. Speleothems from Alepotrypa Cave: towards climate reconstruction 400
Meighan Boyd and Kathrin Holmgren
22. The Diros Project, 2011–2013: surface survey and site collection in Diros Bay 407
Daniel J. Pullen, Michael L. Galaty, William A. Parkinson, Wayne E. Lee, and Rebecca. M. Seifried
23. An integrated assessment of Alepotrypa Cave 426
Anastasia Papathanasiou
