| Abstract |
The thesis at hand approaches the subject of ‘seafaring’ by looking for its origins, i.e. the earliest, rudimentary attempts to confront the sea, as these may be preserved in the archaeological record of the NE Mediterranean. It focuses on a small archipelago, situated in the enclosed Inner Ionian Sea, consisting of Meganissi, Kythros and several larger or smaller isles and islets. With the IISA as a case study and by taking into account the differences in the palaeogeography of the region, corroborated by the contextual evidence in terms of palaeoanthropological and palaeontological remains from this part of the Mediterranean, the aim is (a) to test the hypothesis for Pleistocene sea-crossings in an enclosed sea, such as the one encountered at the IISA, (b) to critically reassess the available archaeological indications for the Pleistocene sea-crossings, (c) to identify both the marine but also the terrestrial routes which are today submerged, (d) to incorporate the new data in the broader discussion of the technical, behavioural and cognitive capacities of the species involved and (e) to propose the way forward in terms of research agendas for the future.The area of the Inner Ionian Sea Archipelago (IISA) is an ideal case study for the investigation of both terrestrial and marine crossings that might have occurred during the Pleistocene since its present coastal configuration differed significantly from the one encountered by Palaeolithic hominins. According to the latest palaeoshoreline reconstructions, while most of the islands under scrutiny were connected to Lefkas and the opposite Akarnanian coasts, during the low sea-level stands of MIS 2, MIS 4 and MIS 6, the islands of Kefalonia, Zakynthos, Ithaki, Atokos and Arkoudi were indeed separated from the mainland, thus, any lithic finds attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic are indications of marine rather than terrestrial crossings.
This research is the result of a series of studies combining fieldwork and laboratory methods. Literature review was conducted in order to appreciate the palaoenvironmental, palaeogeographic, palaeontological, palaeoanthropological and archaeological context. A re-examination of the already published material from sites on Zakynthos and Kefalonia, together with the study of new assemblages from the Livatho Valley Survey, allow for a comprehensive scrutiny of the issue of Pleistocene sea-crossings in the Ionian Sea. Furthermore, the detailed re-examination of the published lithic collections from the Aegean islands of Alonnissos, Kyra Panagia, AyiosEfstratios, Naxos, Crete and Gavdos allows for a meticulous and exhaustive approach of the subject matter and an appreciation of the state-of-the-art in terms of Pleistocene sea-crossings in a local scale (the NE Mediterranean) but with significant repercussions for the discipline in a global scale. The critical review of the already published datasets recognizes problems of data documentation and interpretative limitations, identifies omissions and proposes alternative interpretations. Through the synthesis of new and old data, the seascapes, coastscapes and submerged Pleistocene landscapes are presented, and the possible terrestrial and marine routes are proposed. The debate focuses on the notion of ‘innovation’ as ‘adaptation’, as a response to various types of natural or anthropogenic stress, on the basis of the new data from the NE Mediterranean but also from several other cases in Eurasia. Irrefutably, there is still much work to be done towards the identification and documentation of the archaeological evidence for the earliest sea-crossings not only in the NE Mediterranean but worldwide. What becomes apparent, though, is that future archaeological investigations aiming to explore the earliest attempts of the human lineage to confront and navigate the sea may need to be sustained in the sea.
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