Between the Aegean and the Adriatic: The Balkan Palaeolithic and the Sea

Abstract

Abstract Focusing on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, this chapter discusses the paradigm shift towards an archaeology that incorporates the Quaternary Sea and investigates the profound effect of the fluctuating sea-levels on (a) Palaeolithic hunter gatherers and (b) archaeological visibility. It examines the sea as a resource, a water-crossing challenge and a terrestrial route to novel territories at periods of low sea-level stand. In tune with Continental Shelf Archaeology it describes two research projects in islands of the central Ionian Sea (Lefkas and the Inner Ionian Archipelago) and the north-east Aegean Sea (Lesbos) that address the ways Palaeolithic groups responded to climate and sea-level change, and their initial attempts to cross the sea or the land bridges that emerged as windows of opportunity for dispersal during times of low sea-level stands.