Interdisciplinary Analysis of Materials from Akrotiri- Aetokremnos, An Early Archaeological Site in Cyprus

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Excavations by Dr. Alan Simmons and his colleagues at the site of Akrotiri-Aetokremnos, located on the Akrotiri Peninsula of southern Cyprus, have greatly surprised both archaeologists and biologists, because they seem to indicate the co-occurrence of humans and pygmy forms of both hippopotamus and elephant. Dated to the ninth millennium BC, this stratified cave site contains both stone tools as well as the broken bones of both species. These data also indicate that human settlement of the eastern Mediterranean islands occurred ca. 2,000 years earlier than previously expected. Evidence seems to indicate that a true association exists between the bones and stone tools. This implies human hunting of these species and a probable human role in their extinction. In this project, Dr. Simmons and his colleagues will analyze the materials recovered during multiple seasons of field research. Objectives include analysis of faunal and material culture assemblages, of site geomorphology, stratigraphy and paleoenvironment, as well as refinement of the chronological sequence. In many parts of the world the disappearance of many species of animals appears to be associated with human factors. Archaeologists and biologists have, for many years, argued about the human role in the extinction of such large species as mammoths and mastodons in North America. What makes the issue complicated is that these faunal changes occurred at the end of the last "Ice Age," and it is difficult to separate out the potential climatic factor. Therefore, researchers have turned their attention to other areas of the world. It is in this context that the Cyprus case is of primary interest. Through study of the cave sediments insight will be gained into climatic change - or stability. Analysis of bone breakage patterns will indicate how humans utilized and possibly killed these animals. Given the serious problem of species loss today, this research is important because it will set the issue into a broader chronological context. It will also increase our understanding of early Mediterranean prehistory and help to document expanding human capabilities there.