Papers by Babis Garefalakis
Archaeologiko Deltio, 2017
This paper presents the results of the analysis of the lithics from the Palaeolithic layers of Ma... more This paper presents the results of the analysis of the lithics from the Palaeolithic layers of Mavri Spilia, excavated during the field season of 2013. For the most part, these lithic assemblages were associated with hearth formations, both at the back and at the entrance of the cave. A wide range of raw materials both local and non-local was used, most likely in the form of pebbles. Evidence points to the application of both Levallois and non-Levallois reduction sequences, with no indication that different techniques were applied on different materials. The most common retouched tool type is the scraper, with most of these being ordinary side scrapers and only a few indicating more invasive, Quina-like retouch. Using all available information, an attempt to understand the site in the context of the Late Pleistocene Nean-derthal occupation of the Mani Peninsula is made and some tentative conclusions are drawn.
We here report the first results from a systematic research project in Mani (Southern Greece), wh... more We here report the first results from a systematic research project in Mani (Southern Greece), which includes
survey and test excavations. Forty-six caves, rockshelters and open-air sites in lowland settings were
surveyed. Geomorphological data were collected in order to assess how geological processes affect the
preservation of sites and bias site distribution patterns. Artifacts manufactured from non-local rock indicate
potential raw material transfers and suggest links among the different regions of Mani, related to mobility
patterns. Our research in the Mani has nearly doubled the number of known Middle Palaeolithic sites from
the region and confirmed that the peninsula has the strongest ‘Neanderthal signal’ identified to date in
Greece. Almost all sites are located at coastal areas. Despite the influence of Pleistocene landscape
dynamics, this distribution emerges as a persistent pattern, perhaps indicating a preference for coastal
locations. The Neanderthal occupation of Mani can illuminate important aspects of Middle Palaeolithic
adaptation in one of the southernmost coastal regions of Europe.
Conference Presentations by Babis Garefalakis
This paper presents the results of the analysis of the lithics from the Palaeolithic layers of Ma... more This paper presents the results of the analysis of the lithics from the Palaeolithic layers of Mavri Spilia, excavated during the first and only up to now excavation season of the site in 2013. For the most part, these were correlated with hearth formations, both at the back and at the entrance of the cave. A wide range of raw materials both local and non-local was used, most likely in the form of pebbles. Evidence points to the application of both Levallois and non-Levallois reduction sequences, with no indication that different techniques were applied on different materials. The most common retouched tool type is the scraper, with most of these being ordinary side scrapers, only a few indicating more invasive, Quinalike retouch. Using all available information, an attempt to understand the site in the context of the Late Pleistocene Neanderthal occupation of the Mani Peninsula is made and some tentative conclusions are drawn.
Thesis by Babis Garefalakis
FACULTY OF LAW ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Doctor of Philosophy NEANDERTHAL ARC... more FACULTY OF LAW ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES Doctor of Philosophy NEANDERTHAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN MIS 3 WESTERN EUROPE: ECOLOGICAL AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES. By Charalampos Garefalakis This thesis focuses on the occupation of selected regions in Western Europe by Neanderthals during the earlier part of Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3), namely the period between c. 60 and 40 kyr ago. It examines the archaeological evidence from three different areas, Britain, Belgium and South-Western France aiming to understand the occupation in these areas, both at a synchronic and at a diachronic level.
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Papers by Babis Garefalakis
survey and test excavations. Forty-six caves, rockshelters and open-air sites in lowland settings were
surveyed. Geomorphological data were collected in order to assess how geological processes affect the
preservation of sites and bias site distribution patterns. Artifacts manufactured from non-local rock indicate
potential raw material transfers and suggest links among the different regions of Mani, related to mobility
patterns. Our research in the Mani has nearly doubled the number of known Middle Palaeolithic sites from
the region and confirmed that the peninsula has the strongest ‘Neanderthal signal’ identified to date in
Greece. Almost all sites are located at coastal areas. Despite the influence of Pleistocene landscape
dynamics, this distribution emerges as a persistent pattern, perhaps indicating a preference for coastal
locations. The Neanderthal occupation of Mani can illuminate important aspects of Middle Palaeolithic
adaptation in one of the southernmost coastal regions of Europe.
Conference Presentations by Babis Garefalakis
Thesis by Babis Garefalakis
survey and test excavations. Forty-six caves, rockshelters and open-air sites in lowland settings were
surveyed. Geomorphological data were collected in order to assess how geological processes affect the
preservation of sites and bias site distribution patterns. Artifacts manufactured from non-local rock indicate
potential raw material transfers and suggest links among the different regions of Mani, related to mobility
patterns. Our research in the Mani has nearly doubled the number of known Middle Palaeolithic sites from
the region and confirmed that the peninsula has the strongest ‘Neanderthal signal’ identified to date in
Greece. Almost all sites are located at coastal areas. Despite the influence of Pleistocene landscape
dynamics, this distribution emerges as a persistent pattern, perhaps indicating a preference for coastal
locations. The Neanderthal occupation of Mani can illuminate important aspects of Middle Palaeolithic
adaptation in one of the southernmost coastal regions of Europe.