Archaeology Magazine - January 1971 - 8

PETRALONA

continued

gave the clearest picture of the implements from the
points of view of the culture and the dating. It is being called the Riss-Würm Interglacial layer. The two
interruptions in layer 2 mean that the Riss-Würm Interglacial was not homogenous in climate throughout
its duration.
Section B in the cave is composed primarily of two
"cemented" layers and one "soft" earth layer between
them. In this "soft" layer, we meet many traces of
human activity. The other two layers are for the most
part sterile. The top layer (3) of section b had on its
surface, protruding into the layer above it, a head of
Rhinoceros mercki Jäger. In the inner part of the
zygomatic bones, two stone scrapers were found. In
the same layer there was also an animal tooth. In
layer 5 were found only a few animal bones and a
tool. We consider that the two "cemented" layers correspond to the two periods of the Riss Ice Age and
that during these periods the cave was abandoned by
man and only occasionally did man enter there. But
in the interstadial period (layer 4) the cave was inhabited. Layer no. 3 corresponding to Riss has a thickness of twenty-six centimeters, while layer no. 5 (Riss)
has an average thickness of ninety centimeters. The
relative thickness indicates the duration of time.
Section c is composed of one layer, the largest of
all the layers, with a thickness of 1.45 meters. The
earth is quite soft, the same brown-reddish, and contains a lot of pieces of rock, bones, implements and
traces of fire. The climate during this period, which
we consider the Mindel-Riss Interglacial, is warm,
and probably more humid, than the previous layers.
Human activity during this age is very high and the
cave seems to be densely populated, as may be as well
as the rest of Greece.
Section d is made up of three layers, 7, 8, 9, which
are primarily a greyish-pale yellow sandy argil of various shades. All three layers contain bones, but only
the upper two have implements and traces of fire.
Clearly we have in the whole section d a different
climatological condition, at least more rain or maybe
river water than in section c, but chronologically it
should be united to the Mindel-Riss period, or be considered in other words "very early Mindel-Riss."
Section e has two layers, 10 and 11. The earth becomes again brown-reddish. The top layer (10) is
"half-cemented" and contains various traces of human
activity, like fire, implements and bones. In this layer
we meet the oldest traces of fire in a cave in Greece,
and probably in the whole of Europe, uncovered up
to this moment. This "half -cemented" layer should be
considered to date to the Mindel Glacial. Man only
then, it seems, entered caves in Europe- though this
8

suggestion needs further confirmation.
Layer 11 has only animal bones and the reddish earth ,
is quite "soft." Man seems never to have lived in this
layer, but from layer 10 up continuously to the first
layer there is human habitation. After layer 11, as we
dig deeper, there is a layer of rock, which may be the
bottom of the cave, or perhaps a side rock, which
through natural forces has intervened thus concealing
possible human and animal bone traces below. Only
further excavation can provide the answer to where
the cave floor is.
The fauna of all layers has mainly Bos primigenius,
Equus caballus and Equus ( Ashius) hydruntinus, Cervus elaphus, and several other deer, Ursus arctos sp.,
Crocuta erocuta sp., and many other carnivora. Di- ,
cerorhinus kirchbergensis was found from the B-3
"frozen" layer and up to the breccia. Below this layer,
in this sounding, we meet no other traces of rhinoceros. A systematic,special report on the animals of the
cave can be expected in the near future.
Most of the stone implements which were found in
the cave were made of material brought from outside
at a distance of some kilometers. At the same time
many tools, particularly awls, were made of bones.
The great majority of the stone tools were chopping
tools of various types. The main material used was
boxite and quartz. Sources of each were located a few
kilometers from the cave. In the upper layers we meet,
of course, more elaborate instruments in comparison
with the lower layers.
After the discovery of the Petralonian skull (see
P. Kokkoros and A. Kanellis: "Découverte d'un crâne
palaeolithic dans le Peninsule Chalcidique," L'Anthropologie 64 [I960] 438 ff.), some stone and bone
tools were found, but they have never been dated, except for one attempt by the writer who considered
them to be of the Middle Palaeolithic in his article
"Novie nachodki paleolita v Grecii," ( Sovetskaya
Arkheologia, 2 (1963) 227-229.
So as to date the implements found in our trial section, C 14 analysis was used on the stalagmitic and
stalactitic material of the cave. Two samples were examined and both gave a minimum date of 44,000
years. The dating was reported in letters of the C 14
Laboratory: J. Fantidis' of December 19, 1968 and
D. Berdau's of March 7, 1969 ( Zweites physicalisches
Institut der Universität Heidelberg C 14 Laboratorium:
3084-2337 Ph-1 [Petralona]). I take this opportunity
to express my gratitude to the C 14 Laboratory of the
Physics Institute of Heidlelberg University. Just beneath the stalagmitic surface in a pile of bones there
was found a large fragment of limestone showing
signs of use, probably the last instrument used by man
before the cave was sealed off by nature about 50,000

Archaeology Magazine - January 1971

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Archaeology Magazine - January 1971