Klithi: Palaeolithic settlement and Quaternary landscapes in northwest Greece.

Klithi: Palaeolithic settlement and Quaternary landscapes in northwest Greece. GEOFF BAILEY Geoff Bailey is a British archaeologist. He currently holds the Anniversary Chair at the University of York in England. His research interests include palaeoeconomy and the archaeology of shell middens and prehistoric coastlines as well as maritime environments as used by humans. (ed.). Klithi: Palaeolithic settlement and Quaternary quaternary/qua��ter��nary/ (kwah��ter-nar?e)1. fourth in order.2. containing four elements or groups.qua��ter��nar��yadj.1. Consisting of four; in fours. landscapes in northwest Greece. xxxiv+699 pages, 418 figures, 193tables. 1997. Cambridge: McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research The McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research is a research institute of the University of Cambridge in England. HistoryThe Institute was established in 1990 through a generous benefaction from the late Dr D. M. McDonald, a well-known and successful industrialist. ;0-9519420-2-6 hardback 70 [pounds sterling]. Everyone who was or is involved in compiling a final site reportwill appreciate the work by Geoff Bailey and his 32 associates inbringing these two impressive volumes to completion. Digging, analysingand writing comprehensive reports is an ideal hard to achieve. As statedby Bailey, the pace of each discipline is different, and linking variousstudies requires patience with the slowest producer. Finally, however,this impressive site and regional report is a major addition to Greekprehistory prehistory,period of human evolution before writing was invented and records kept. The term was coined by Daniel Wilson in 1851. It is followed by protohistory, the period for which we have some records but must still rely largely on archaeological evidence to , and by the same token to European Stone Age research, andpays tribute `to the memory of Eric Higgs Eric Sidney Higgs (1908–1976) was an English archaeologist. Eric Higgs (philosopher) is a Canadian philosopher and ecological planner. , who started it all'. The history of research and the aims of the project are clearlyexpressed (chapter 1). Two principles guided the investigation, namely,regional perspective and the study of the sites in their settings. Thesecreated the framework within which past lifeways of foragers in Epiruswere seen as based on seasonal rounds, a model first proposed by Higgsbased on known pastoral groups. Hence, the excavations at Klithi wereaimed at testing the so-called `transhumance hypothesis.' Theylasted, with a few interruptions, from 1983 to 1988. A major challenge in connection with site catchment analysis was toreconcile the various types of records (archaeological,palaeoenvironmental, current landscape) with their chronologicalresolutions. The discovery that the Mousterian is much older thansuspected in the 1960s and even the 1970s indicates that the temporalboundaries are difficult to determine (as is clearly stated by Bailey),and so the main target became the sites that fall within the UpperPaleolithic Noun 1. Upper Paleolithic - the time period during which only modern Homo sapiens was known to have existed; ended about 10,000 years BCPalaeolithic, Paleolithic, Paleolithic Age - second part of the Stone Age beginning about 750,00 to 500,000 years BC and lasting . The particular timeframe within which Klithi andneighbouring sites and sequences fall (chapter 2) stretches from theTerminal Pleistocene through the Holocene. Klithi itself was occupiedfrom about 16,500 to c. 13,500 BP (uncalibrated), with one date withinthe Younger Dryas. The advantages and disadvantages of excavation techniques aredescribed in chapter 3, as are the drilling trials, followed by adetailed description of the stratigraphy stratigraphy,branch of geology specifically concerned with the arrangement of layered rocks (see stratification). Stratigraphy is based on the law of superposition, which states that in a normal sequence of rock layers the youngest is on top and the oldest on the of the rockshelter (chapter 4).The density of artefacts and bones per cubic metre Noun 1. cubic metre - a metric unit of volume or capacity equal to 1000 literscubic meter, kiloliter, kilolitremetric capacity unit - a capacity unit defined in metric terms and over time arecompared between Klithi, Kastritsa and Asprochaliko, leading toobservations concerning the terms of human occupations. From the richlithic lith��ic?1?adj.Consisting of or relating to stone or rock.Adj. 1. lithic - of or containing lithium2. lithic - relating to or composed of stone; "lithic sandstone" assemblages, a few squares were chosen for refitting (chapter 5)and the results show the expected effects of trampling and movement ofartefacts. These conclusions tie in well with the discussion of recoverytechniques (chapter 6) experimented with at Klithi. The intra-site analyses (chapters 7-13) are on either complete orpartial subsets of the half-million bones and lithics recovered from thesite. The report on the lithics (chapters 8-9a & b) employs thedescriptive attributes of the concept of chaine operatoire. Varioustables and texts provide information concerning the sources of the rawmaterials, procedures of blank production, types of retouched pieces andthe special segmentation technique. Replication experiments demonstratethe validity of previous observations of the prehistoric pieces.Preliminary multivariate analysis (chapter 10) indicates that a part ofthe assemblage was imported, and other blanks were locally produced fromriver pebble as replacements. These observations could be used toidentify the prehistoric routes taken by the foragers. The range oftheir activities is reflected in the microwear analysis (chapter 11).The sampled backed bladelets reveal that they were used as projectile projectilesomething thrown forward.projectile syringesee blow dart.projectile vomitingforceful vomiting, usually without preceding retching, in which the vomitus is thrown well forward. points and barbs. Objects shaped from bone and antler, although notnumerous, consist of common Upper Palaeolithic types. Pierced canineteeth were present in the lower layers. Other body decorations includedsome marine shells. The faunal remains from Klithi are dominated by ibexand chamois chamois(shăm`ē), hollow-horned, hoofed mammal, Rupicapra rupicapra, found in the mountains of Europe and the E Mediterranean. , with a kill pattern aimed at prime age adults. Specializedhunting is not unknown from other Upper Pleistocene sites, and in thecase of Klithi reflects the craggy crag��gy?adj. crag��gi��er, crag��gi��est1. Having crags: craggy terrain.2. Rugged and uneven: a craggy face. environment of the gorge. Volume 2 moves from the site to its landscape. The Quaternarygeology of the immediate environment of Klithi, the sediments of theexcavated rockshelters, the vegetational history of the area andarchaeological reports from other sites in the gorge form the body ofchapters 16-22. Then, within the generalized model of foragers'mobility during the Late Glacial, the larger region of Epirus, includingthe sites previously excavated by Higgs, are presented in a series ofreports. The regional chronological scope is longer, beginning with thebasal Mousterian from Asprochaliko, in addition to the surfaceMousterian sites from Epirus. The Mousterian assemblage fromAsprochaliko joins other examples in which blank production is notdictated by the size of the available raw material. Human agency, itseems, already played a major role in the Middle Paleaolithic. Chapter25 describes and compares the Upper Palaeolithic industries fromAsprochaliko, Kastritsa and a sample from Klithi. It demonstrates thevariability in core reduction strategies and the special character ofall the sites in the Voidomatis Gorge area. Differences in the use ofthe site between two layers emerged during the refitting study of UpperPalaeolithic lithics from Kastritsa, the lake-side cave, where caches ofartefacts, hearths and postholes were recognized during the excavationsby Higgs. The shift was from ephemeral and episodic to more intensiveoccupations, during which humans invested more energy in the site's`furnitures'. This part of volume 2 ends with the results of theoverall regional survey. The final section brings up a variety of subjects pertaining to thegeological history of Epirus (chapter 28), the overall Late Glaciallandscape and vegetation as reconstructed from the detailed analysis oflake pollen cores (chapter 29), and the Palaeolithic geography of theregion as reflected in the biological and physical components. Siteterritorial analysis is achieved through a series of maps andcalculations of animal densities (chapter 30). Seasonal movementsbetween the highlands and the coastal plain, which represent the patternof exploitation, avoid the trap of environmental determinism. Thisreconstruction serves as a basis for calculating population size, andthe suggested number is interpreted as representing one `matingsystem' of 500-1000 people (or c. 0.12-0.06 individuals per sq. kmof exploitable territory). Modelling the relationship between plants, animals and people,chapter 31 stresses the importance of human control over `animaldistribution and the maintenance of spatial patchiness' as supportfor the overkill overkillVox populi An excess of anything hypothesis. The cultural response to evolvingnecessities in the face of shrinking natural resources would lead, underparticular social conditions, to the emergence of cultivation and animaldomestication domesticationProcess of hereditary reorganization of wild animals and plants into forms more accommodating to the interests of people. In its strictest sense, it refers to the initial stage of human mastery of wild animals and plants. . The impact of the role of human behaviour on a givenregion is further enhanced as the ethnographic data from Epirus isexamined (chapter 32). Patterns of modern transhumance do not replicatethe past, but human concern with physical features is embedded in thecultural experience. The final chapter summarizes each aspect of the research and thelessons that could be learned from the Klithi excavations and theregional project. Of interest are Bailey's refutations of theoriginal Higgsian hypothesis concerning the `man-animal'relationship and the herders' kind of transhumance, as well as hisown predictions concerning the hunted game on the basis of the acquiredevidence. The nature of the excavated sites and the presence or absenceof preserved activity areas are also a warning for future excavators,although in this domain further emphasis on site formation processesinvestigated through micromorphology would have been appropriate. Thechapter follows with sections on regional and inter-regional networks,and archaeological and palaeo-economic comparisons. It ends with thequestion `were the efforts worth it?' Bailey's response,advocating the value of developing a theory based on the long-termperspective of the human past as produced by empirical realities offieldwork, cognizant of the shortcomings in identifying the individual(demanded by recently dominant orthodoxies of social and biologicaltheories), will be applauded by the many of us who share this attitude. The two volumes are lavishly illustrated, with high-qualityblack-and-white pictures, clear maps and diagrams, and technicallyinformative drawings of stone artefacts. A short book review can hardly do justice to the richness of thedata sets and in particular to the numerous ideas and avenues ofinterpretation expressed in these pages, which, judging from my personalexperience, will benefit many other prehistoric projects. OFER BAR-YOSEF Peabody Museum, Harvard University