Sedimentology and micromorphology of the Lower Palaeolithic lakeshore site Marathousa 1, Megalopolis basin, Greece

Karkanas, Panagiotis; Tourloukis, Vangelis; Thompson, Nicholas; Giusti, Domenico; Panagopoulou, Eleni; Harvati, Katerina

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2018.02.037

Cited by 25 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Excavations have continued at the recently discovered Lower Palaeolithic site of Marathousa 1, Megalopolis (Karkanas et al 2018;Panagopoulou et al 2018a;. It is dated to ca.…”

Section: Peloponnesementioning

confidence: 99%

Newsround

Parikh¹

2019

Arch. Rep.

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Abstract‘Newsround’ offers a platform for new discoveries that do not appear within the specialist contributions of this year’s Archaeological Reports, but which nevertheless warrant emphasis, either as a result of their particular characteristics or for the contribution they make to broader archaeological narratives. This section is not intended to be exhaustive but rather an overview of archaeological research in Greece. It comprises largely preliminary reports (results of excavations that took place up to and including August 2019 where possible) that complement the digital content made available through Archaeology in Greece Online (https://chronique.efa.gr). Due to the diachronic nature of a number of the sites and for ease of reference, the material is organized within each section geographically in the first instance and then chronologically (earliest to latest), as far as possible.

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“…Excavations have continued at the recently discovered Lower Palaeolithic site of Marathousa 1, Megalopolis (Karkanas et al 2018;Panagopoulou et al 2018a;. It is dated to ca.…”

Section: Peloponnesementioning

confidence: 99%

Newsround

Parikh¹

2019

Arch. Rep.

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“…Meanwhile, Lignite Seam II, called UA7 in Area A, but UB10 in Area B, underlies this sedimentary package. Immediately below Lignite Seam III lies a clayey-silty sand layer rich in molluscs (UA2-UB2) ranging from~20-40 cm thick ( Figure 2; [14]). Approximately 0.8-1.3 m below the molluscan horizon sat the zone that yielded the elephant fossils and artefacts.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Derived from the erosion of previously deposited lacustrine sediment, mud intraclasts averaging <20 mm occurred in several units. High proportions of silty clay suggest that this sediment was deposited in a low-energy system, such as a marsh or a very quiet lake punctuated by high-energy mud flows at the paleolake shores and close to mudflats [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

ESR Dating Ungulate Teeth and Molluscs from the Paleolithic Site Marathousa 1, Megalopolis Basin, Greece

Blackwell

Sakhrani²,

Singh³

et al. 2018

Quaternary

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At 37° 24′ N 22° 8′ E, the Megalopolis Basin lies in the central Peloponnese Peninsula, southwestern Greece. In the Megalopolis Basin at ~ 350 m amsl, the Paleolithic site, Marathousa 1, sits within a palustrine/lacustrine clastic package between Lignite Seams III and II, that both likely correlate with interglacial periods. At Marathousa 1, immediately below Lignite Seam III, lies a clayey-silty sand layer with a horizon rich in molluscs ranging from ~ 20–40 cm thick. About 0.8–1.3 m below the shell-rich horizon (SRH), lacustrine silty to muddy sands rich in organic matter yielded Paleolithic lithic artefacts associated with Middle Pleistocene fauna, some with cut marks and possible bone knapping, found within palustrine/lacustrine clastic deposits. Since ESR (electron spin resonance) can date teeth and molluscs aged > 2 Ma, two bivalve samples, AM66 and AM65, five subsamples from a cervid molar, AT39, and one subsample from another cervid molar, AT68, were independently dated by ESR from Marathousa 1. To calculate the ages, time-averaged cosmic and time- and volumetrically-averaged sedimentary dose rates were calculated using past water depths and sedimentation rates as determined from paleontological and geological criteria. Found in the SRH in Layer UA2, AM66 and AM65 averaged 488 ± 37 ka, which correlates with MIS 13a. Because the bivalves sat stratigraphically above the artefacts and mammalian fossils, their ages constrain the ESR ages for the teeth deposited below. Lying on the unconformity at the base of Layer UA3c with UA4, and its correlative unconformity at the Layer UB4c/UB5 boundary, sat the dated teeth from large mammals. Because the bones in the Palaeoloxodon antiquus skeleton lay in quasi-anatomical association, the likelihood for fossil reworking on the Layer UB3c/UB4 surface is low. Isochron analysis suggests that using a U uptake model with p = 2 provides the most accurate ages for AT39. With p = 2, AT39 dates to 503 ± 13 ka, while AT68 dates to 512 ± 34 ka. Nonetheless, two to three more teeth and molluscs should be dated to confirm these ages, when more samples suitable for ESR dating are found. Both tooth ages correlate well with early MIS 13, an interglacial period with cooler mean global temperatures compared to MIS 11 or 9. Assuming that the archaeological site formed in one event, rather than as a palimpsest, the data suggest that hominins processed elephant and other faunal carcasses along the shores of a shallow lake or marsh in the Megalopolis Basin at 503 ± 12 ka. Between the two horizons dated here, their sedimentation rate averaged 4.8 ± 1.8 to 7.8 ± 2.9 cm/ka.

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“…The MAR-1 assemblage in toto (n = 1,170) currently lacks large cutting tools and any evidence of bifacial debitage. Most artefacts (83.9%) were produced on red radiolarite, with much smaller numbers on flint, quartz, limestone and sandstone; surviving cortex indicates the exploitation of small pebbles and cobbles recovered from the streams and rivers which fed the lake upon which MAR-1 lay (Tourloukis et al 2018a: 5; on the depositional formation of the site, see Karkanas et al 2018). Some 90% of the total assemblage consists of micro-debitage and debris (including core-maintenance flakes, potential thinning flakes, resharpening flakes and spalls), 7% of flakes and 3% of tools (n = 42); the latter were preferentially manufactured on flakes or flake fragments (62%) and demonstrate an emphasis on backed pieces.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rarity of cores and opening flakes (éclat d'entame) suggests that cores may have been disposed of elsewhere or that they were decorticated in advance of their arrival on site. Lithic material from Area A (four flakes, 63 chips) appears to derive from the resharpening and repair of tools explicitly associated with the exploitation of Palaeoloxodon, while that from Area B (n = 1,105) identifies a more complete chaine opératoire and a greater range of carcassprocessing tasks (on the integrity of the site, see Guisti et al 2018). The extent to which the 'small tool' character of the assemblage was a matter of choice or a product of raw-material size and reduction intensity remains unclear (Tourloukis et al 2018a: 15).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Newsround

Smith¹,

Vlanti²

2018

Arch. Rep.

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Newsround’ offers a platform for new data which do not appear within the specialist contributions of this year's Archaeological Reports but which nevertheless warrant emphasis, either as a result of their particular characteristics or for the contribution they make to broader archaeological narratives. This section is not intended to be exhaustive, but is designed, rather, to highlight recent discoveries in a way which complements digital content made available through Archaeology in Greece Online (https://chronique.efa.gr). The very varied nature of this material has meant that, for the most part, it has proved preferable to organize this section chronologically, although dedicated sections are provided for the inclusion of both marine archaeology and archaeological survey.

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Sedimentology and micromorphology of the Lower Palaeolithic lakeshore site Marathousa 1, Megalopolis basin, Greece

Cited by 25 publications

References 29 publications

Newsround

Newsround

ESR Dating Ungulate Teeth and Molluscs from the Paleolithic Site Marathousa 1, Megalopolis Basin, Greece

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