The Megalopolis basin, Southern Peloponnese (Greece), has long been known for its rich Pleistocene fossil-bearing deposits. Since the 1970s, the region has hosted a large lignite mine and power factory, taking advantage of the lignite seams that formed at the bottom of a Pleistocene paleo lake. The mining activities have exposed a long stratigraphic sequence, allowing for the investigation of the presence of early humans in the region. Since 2013, Prof. Harvati and her collaborators have conducted targeted systematic survey, which led to the discovery of a series of new Middle Pleistocene sites, which are currently the oldest archaeological sites known in Greece (Link to the AP article).
The DFG project ‘Early Human Adaptations in Megalopolis’ aims to analyse the faunal and cultural material from these new sites, with the goal of reconstructing hominin behaviour and adaptation diachronically. The project includes the technological and functional analysis of lithic artifacts, aiming to understand how they were made, on which raw materials, and how they were used and the analysis of fossil faunal assemblages, including the species composition, the presence of anthropogenic marks on bones. An important dimension is the reconstruction of the paleoenvironment at the time of hominid presence, achieved through isotopic analysis, but also the analysis of fauna and flora.
Konidaris G.E., Athanassiou A., Tourloukis V., Chitoglou K., van Kolfschoten T., Giusti D., Thompson N., Tsartsidou G., Roditi E., Panagopoulou E., Karkanas P., Harvati K. 2024. The late Early–Middle Pleistocene mammal fauna from the Megalopolis Basin (Peloponnese, Greece) and its importance for biostratigraphy and palaeoenvironment. Quaternary 7, 41
Butiseaca G.A., van der Meer M.T.J., Bludau I.J.E., Karkanas P., Vasiliev I., Tourloukis V., Junginger A., Mulch A., Panagopoulou E., Harvati K. 2024. Impact of the MIS 12 glacial stage on the middle Pleistocene hominins in the eastern Mediterranean (Megalopolis basin - Greece). Global and Planetary Change 242, 104585
De Caro D., Tourloukis V., Thompson N., Panagopoulou E., Harvati K. 2024. The lithic assemblages from the Palaeolithic survey research in the Megalopolis Basin, Greece. Journal of Lithic Studies, 11(1), 1-29
Roditi E., Bocherens H., Konidaris G.E., Athanassiou A., Tourloukis V., Karkanas P., Panagopoulou E., Harvati K.* 2024. Life-history of Palaeoloxodon antiquus reveals Middle Pleistocene glacial refugium in the Megalopolis basin, Greece. Scientific Reports 14, 1390
Konidaris G.E., Tourloukis V., Boni G., Athanassiou A., Giusti D., Thompson N., Syrides G., Panagopoulou E., Karkanas P., Harvati K. 2023. Marathousa 2: A New Middle Pleistocene Locality in the Megalopolis Basin (Greece) With Evidence of Hominin Exploitation of Megafauna (Hippopotamus). PaleoAnthropology 2023:1, 34-55
Katsagoni A., Konidaris G., Giusti D., Harvati K., Kostopoulos D. 2023. Bone modifications by the giant hyaena Pachycrocuta brevirostris on large-sized ungulate carcasses from the Lower Pleistocene site of Tsiotra Vryssi (Mygdonia Basin, Greece). Historical Biology
Guibert-Cardin J., Tourloukis V., Thompson N., Panagopoulou E., Harvati K., Nicoud E., Beyries S. 2022. The function of small tools in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene: The case of Marathousa 1 (Megalopolis, Greece). Journal of Lithic Studies 9(1), 1-29.
Konidaris G., Athanassiou A., Panagopoulou E., Harvati K. 2022. First record of Macaca (Cercopithecidae, Primates) in the Middle Pleistocene of Greece. Journal of Human Evolution 162, 103104
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