Aetokremnos

Aetokremnos is a rock shelter near Limassol on the southern coast of Cyprus. It is situated on a steep cliff site ca. 40 m above the Mediterranean. The name means "Cliff of the eagles" in Greek. Ca. 40 m2 have been excavated. Of the four layers found, No. 3 is sterile.

The site contains both bones of the late Holocene dwarf fauna, pygmy elephants (Elephas cypriotes) and the Cyprus Dwarf Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus minor) and artifacts (ca. 1,000 flints including thumbnail scrapers of Mesolithic type). There are no bones with marks of butchery, but an unusually high frequency of burned bones (30%). The pygmy hippos make up ca. 74% of the bones, followed by fish remains (25%) and birds, mainly bustards. Dwarf elephants are comparatively rare (3 individuals). The presence of fallow deer (4 bones) and pig (13 bones) is puzzling, since these animals are thought to have been introduced only in the PPNB period.

According to the excavators, hearth remains are found in the layer containing the bone beds of the extinct megafauna. This would make it the oldest site on the island and evidence of Epipalaeolithic occupation. The original 31 radiocarbon dates put the date of the bones at ca. 10,500 BC cal. and suggest a short-term occupation. These dates have been challenged as the excavators considered the nine bone dates to be the least reliable and did not agree with the dates of the stratigraphy where they were found. As of 2013 there are now 36 radiocarbon dates of which 13 are on animal bones (pig and hippo). A 2013 report states that even discarding these and relying on the other 23 determinations on charcoal, sediment and shell "we reaffirm our original interpretation of a relatively short occupation of some 300 years centered around 11,775 cal. BP, with a range of 11,652-11,955 ca. BP at one standard deviation, or 11,504-12,096 cal. BP at two standard deviations (Wigand and Simmons, 1999; Simmons, 2004:5). This is in general accord with Manning’s (2013:501- 503) masterful compilation of all early Cypriot radiocarbon determinations, in which he places Aetokremnos within an approximate 12,950- 10,950 cal. BP range while also preferring a somewhat longer occupation than we presented."[1]

There are other deposits with bones of pygmy elephants and hippopotami on the island, but these do not contain artifacts.

References

  1. ↑ Simmons, Alan H. (2013). "Akrotiri-Aetokremnos (Cyprus) 20 Years Later: An Assessment Of Its Significance" (PDF). Eurasian Prehistory. 10 (1-2): 139–156.

Coordinates: 34°34′14″N 32°59′27″E / 34.5705°N 32.9907°E / 34.5705; 32.9907


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