Ksagounaki, Diros: an Open Air Site of the Final Neolithic from the Viewpoint of Chipped Stone Tools.

Summary

The Final Neolithic Period (FN) in the Aegean and the Greek mainland is characterized by the proliferation of settlements and the occupation of defensible sites. The Ksagounaki site, located at the northern entrance of the Alepotrypa cave at the Mani peninsula, appears to be a representative example of such a transition. In the present study we try and locate changes occurring in the entire spectrum of prehistoric life of the denizens of the site during the FN, drawing information from the lithic assemblage that was recovered during the excavations on the site from 2012-2014. We discuss the technological and typological analysis of the artifacts, and the origin of raw materials. We then compare the assemblage with the chipped stone tools that have been recovered from the neighboring cave of Alepotrypa. By setting the lithic assemblage in an archaeological context we attempt to understand and identify the types of activities that took place in Ksagounaki, map the social structure of the local community, and assess the dynamics of the prehistoric settlement.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 81st Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL (2016)   •
• Long-Term Settlement Dynamics and Land Use on the Mani peninsula of Southern Greece

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