Free Republic

Seafaring before the Neolithic -- circa 7th millennium BCE -- is a controversial issue in the Mediterranean. However, evidence from different parts of the Aegean is gradually changing this, revealing the importance of early coastal and island environments. The site of Ouriakos on the island of Lemnos (Greece) tentatively dates to the end of the Pleistocene and possibly the beginning of the Holocene, circa 12,000 BP... Obsidian, or 'volcanic glass', has been a preferred material for stone tools wherever it is found or traded. It also absorbs water vapour when exposed to air -- for instance, when it is shaped...

Prehistoric Figurines from Franchthi Cave by Lauren E. TalalayFranchthi Cave has produced the second largest collection, after Corinth, of Neolithic figurines from the Peloponnese. Forty-five possible pieces came to light during excavations, and subsequent study classified 24 animal and human images unequivocally as "figurines." Of those, two are dated to the Early Neolithic, one to an Early/Middle transitional phase, eleven to the Middle Neolithic, six to the Late Neolithic and four to the Final Neolithic. This chronological distribution accords well with what is known from the rest of southern Greece where EN figurines are rare. The pattern stands in...