Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary Report

Betancourt, Philip P.; Davaras, Costis; Dierckx, Heidi M.C.; Ferrence, Susan C.; Hickman, Jane; Karkanas, Panagiotis; McGeorge, P.J.P.; Muhly, James D.; Reese, David S.; Stravopodi, Eleni; Langford-Verstegen, Louise

doi:10.2972/hesp.77.4.539

Cited by 27 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…There was continuous use of these tholos tombs from the Early Minoan period I (~4900 YBP) to the Middle Minoan period IB (~3900 YBP)17. The second population consisted of the osseous remains of 69 individuals from a cave in the Lassithi plateau in east-central Crete near the village of Ayios Charalambos18. Lassithi plateau is located in the Diktaian mountain range south-east of the major Minoan civic centre of Knossos (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete

et al. 2013

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The first advanced Bronze Age civilization of Europe was established by the Minoans about 5,000 years before present. Since Sir Arthur Evans exposed the Minoan civic centre of Knossos, archaeologists have speculated on the origin of the founders of the civilization. Evans proposed a North African origin; Cycladic, Balkan, Anatolian and Middle Eastern origins have also been proposed. Here we address the question of the origin of the Minoans by analysing mitochondrial DNA from Minoan osseous remains from a cave ossuary in the Lassithi plateau of Crete dated 4,400–3,700 years before present. Shared haplotypes, principal component and pairwise distance analyses refute the Evans North African hypothesis. Minoans show the strongest relationships with Neolithic and modern European populations and with the modern inhabitants of the Lassithi plateau. Our data are compatible with the hypothesis of an autochthonous development of the Minoan civilization by the descendants of the Neolithic settlers of the island.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cave was sealed for several centuries and it was accidentally discovered during road construction in 1976. Because of the low temperatures inside the cave, the osseous remains were preserved in excellent condition18.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete

et al. 2013

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“…The oldest skeletal evidence of trepanation discovered to date was in a Minoan ossuary in Crete (Early Minoan to Middle Minoan period, 2200-1720 BC). 3 Trepanned skulls belonging to different periods have also been unearthed in Delphi (Middle Bronze Age period, 1700-1750 BC), 21,29 the Peloponnese (Late Helladic period, 1400-1060 BC), 25 Crete (8th century BC), 19 Abdera (7th century BC), 1 and in many other regions, indicating a wide geographic as well as a prolonged chronological distribution. Fabbri et al presented a case of cranial trepanation that was performed at the beginning of the 5th century BC, in a Greek colony in Sicily.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine

Tsermoulas

Aidonis²,

Flint

2014

JNS

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Cranial trepanation is the oldest neurosurgical operation and its roots date back to prehistory. For many centuries, religion and mysticism were strongly linked to the cause of diseases, and trepanation was associated with superstitions such as releasing evil spirits from inside the skull. The Hippocratic treatise “On injuries of the head” was therefore a revolutionary work, as it presented a systematic approach to the management of cranial trauma, one that was devoid of spiritual elements. Unfortunately, there are only a limited number of skeletal findings that confirm that the practice of trepanation was performed as part of Hippocratic medicine. In this historical vignette, the authors present a trepanned skull that was found in Chios, Greece, as evidence of the procedure having been performed in accordance with the Hippocratic teaching. The skull bears a parietal bur hole in association with a linear fracture, and it is clear that the patient survived the procedure. In this analysis, the authors examine the application of the original Hippocratic teaching to the skull of Chios. The rationalization of trepanation was clearly a significant achievement in the evolution of neurosurgery.

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“…In this case, the injuries cannot be attributed securely to warfare, as they could equally reflect homicide, execution or torture. The human remains from Aghios Charalambos cave in Lasithi provide the best examples of deliberately inflicted trauma, with a considerable 16 crania exhibiting distinct injuries (Betancourt et al 2008). These burials are secondary and the disturbed stratigraphic sequences allow broad dating between Final Neolithic and Middle Minoan IIB, though a bias towards the later end of this spectrum is suggested by the excavators.…”

Section: Warrior Burials and Palaeopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These burials are secondary and the disturbed stratigraphic sequences allow broad dating between Final Neolithic and Middle Minoan IIB, though a bias towards the later end of this spectrum is suggested by the excavators. McGeorge (in Betancourt et al 2008) has identified numerous injuries on the skulls (Fig. 22 and Fig.…”

Section: Warrior Burials and Palaeopathologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Martial Minoans? War as Social Process, Practice and Event in Bronze Age Crete

Molloy

2012

Annu. Br. Sch. Athens

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Together with politics, economics and religion, war is one of the fundamental factors that can shape a society and group identities. In the prehistoric world, the sources for the study of war are disparate and their interpretation can be inconsistent and problematic. In the case of Crete in the Bronze Age, a systematic analysis of the evidence will be undertaken for the first time in this paper, and this opportunity is used to critically evaluate the most effective ways of employing the widely agreed sets of physical correlates for ancient war in the archaeological record. A further objective in exploring the diachronic roles of war in these societies is to move the discussion from a niche field to a more integrated, and systematic, social analysis. The existence and character of a warrior identity is examined, and it is proposed that it often constituted a conspicuous element of male identity. The varying scales and time spans through which war can influence a society are discussed, and a broad framework for understanding war in social process, practices and events is proposed.

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Excavations in the Hagios Charalambos Cave: A Preliminary Report

Cited by 27 publications

References 15 publications

A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete

A European population in Minoan Bronze Age Crete

The skull of Chios: trepanation in Hippocratic medicine

Martial Minoans? War as Social Process, Practice and Event in Bronze Age Crete

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