The deep complex prehistoric stratigraphy of the Pelekita Cave—located near Kato Zakros in eastern Crete—is exemplified by the human use of the cave within its first chamber over the course of the “longue durée.” The cave is a case study of challenging taphonomic processes inherent to the cavern’s morphology and coastal yet mountainous setting with the additional layer of human-landscape interaction over the millennium. Discussing the longue durée at Pelekita contextualizes the use of the cave within the Cretan context and also the broader cave-use trends in the southern Aegean.

The ongoing study of the Neolithic pottery has shown that joins among sherds revealed unexpected depositional and contextual locations. Interpreting their distribution and understanding the disparate find locations is further complicated by the absolute dates from the first round of radiocarbon samples, which yielded unexpected results, namely dates as early as the 7th millennium BCE—locating the first human use of the Pelekita Cave in the so-called “Initial Neolithic” of Greece—and placing it not only as contemporary with Stratum X and Levels 35–37 at Knossos, but also perhaps earlier in date. A series of stone-built successive Neolithic hearths provides the opportunity to discuss their use and chronology on the human scale in years, lifespans, and generations.

First Author: Susan Ferrence

Co-Authors: Lily Bonga, Athanasia Kanta

Keywords:
longue durée
stratigraphy
taphonomy