Aetokremnos
Location | near Limassol |
---|---|
Region | southern coast of Cyprus |
Coordinates | 34°34′14″N 32°59′26″E / 34.57056°N 32.99056°E |
Type | limestone |
History | |
Periods | Mesolithic |
Associated with | Paleo humans |
Aetokremnos is a rock shelter near Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus. It is widely considered to host some of the oldest evidence of human habitation of Cyprus, dating to around 12,000 years ago. It is situated on a steep cliff site c. 40 m (131.23 ft) above the Mediterranean sea. The name means "Cliff of the eagles" in Greek. Around 40 m2 (430.56 sq ft) have been excavated and out of the four layers documented, the third is sterile.
Discovery
The site, which is located on a
Archaeology
The site contains mainly bones of the Late Pleistocene endemic
According to the excavators,
There are other deposits with bones of pygmy elephants and hippopotami on the island, but these do not contain artifacts.[1]
The origin of the bones at the site is disputed. Some authors have suggested that the bones were accumulated at the site by humans,[6] while other authors contend that the age distribution curve of the hippotamus bones suggests that the bones accumulated naturally at the site over hundreds of years, and the burnt bones are the result of later fires lit in the rockshelter by humans following their arrival to Cyprus, by which time the bones were already several centuries old.[2]
References
- ^ a b Simmons, Alan H. (1993). "HIPPO HUNTERS of Akrotiri". Archaeology. 46 (5): 40–43.
- ^ S2CID 224982319.
- ^ "akrotiri aetokremnos 20 years later". Academia edu. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ Simmons, Alan H. (2013). "Akrotiri-Aetokremnos (Cyprus) 20 Years Later: An Assessment Of Its Significance" (PDF). Eurasian Prehistory. 10 (1–2): 139–156. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-24. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
- ^ "THE FIRST HUMANS AND LAST PYGMY HIPPOPOTAMI OF CYPRUS" (PDF). Asor.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 6, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- .
Sources
- Simmons, Alan H. (2001). "The first humans and last pygmy hippopotami of Cyprus". In Swiny, Stuart (ed.). The earliest prehistory of Cyprus: From colonization to exploitation (PDF). Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute Monograph Series. Vol. 2. Boston: American Schools of Oriental Research. pp. 1–18. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2012-04-24.
- Simmons, Alan H. (1999). Faunal extinction in an island society: pygmy hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus. Interdisciplinary Contributions to Archaeology. Springer. ISBN 0306460882.
- Grayson, Donald K. (2000). "Faunal extinction in an island society: Pygmy hippopotamus hunters of Cyprus". Geoarchaeology. 15 (4): 379. .