Palaeolithic faunal material recovered from the Petralona Cave near Thessalonica in Macedonia yielded contradictory and wide ranging dates; 700 kya has been suggested. The association of these faunal remains with a human cranium, a surface find, has been problematical but it shares a variety of features with Homo heidelbergensis (200-70 kya) and absolute dating on sediments associated with the cranium has yielded a date of between 250 and 150 kya.
The lowest culture levels of the Asprochaliko rockshelter on the Louros River in northwestern Greece revealed a Mousterian industry dated to 98.5 kya. The upper levels had an Upper Palaeolithic industry dated to 26.1 kya. The lowest cultural levels of the Franchthi Cave on the tip of Argolis in the Peloponnese contained Late Upper Palaeolithic artefacts dated to 22-10.3 kya. The upper layers had a lengthy sequence of Mesolithic and Neolithic occupations.
Nea Nichomedeia, an Early Neolithic settlement in Macedonia, yielded the remains of rectangular mud houses; a large structure in the centre of the mound contained a number of female figurines and is thought to have served a ritual purpose. Flint blades and many stone axes were found. Radiocarbon dates of 6200-5300 BC were obtained.
Excavations at Argissa, a settlement mound in Thessaly, revealed an important cultural sequence for the region beginning with an early pre-ceramic phase probably of the sixth century BC. The earliest Neolithic consisted of timber-framed huts with mud-walled pits that were probably roofed with branches. Occupation continued more or less continuously throughout the Neolithic and the Bronze Age.
Elateia is an important Neolithic settlement site in east Central Greece. Radiocarbon dates place its beginnings at 5500 BC; thereafter it documents the complete stratified sequence of Neolithic pottery deposits for the region. Rectangular houses were built of timber and had earthen floors.
Dhimini, a Late Neolithic settlement in Thessaly, had an elaborate system of walls encircling a megaron palace and some smaller buildings. Sesklo, a Neolithic settlement site in Thessaly, was first occupied in the seventh century BC and by the Middle Neolithic had a large megaron complex on an acropolis. Two tholos tombs date from the Mycenaean period during which a settlement developed around the mound. After being destroyed by fire Sesklo was reoccupied and remained a substantial settlement throughout the Bronze Age.
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