Contemplating absences. Palaeolithic discourse and the Ionian Islands (original) (raw)

2023

Abstract

Excavations and diachronic surveys in the Ionian Islands have offered a rich dataset of stone tools while absolute dates, organic remains and human fossils are mostly lacking. Diagnostic Middle Palaeolithic tools and techniques are abundant at the northernmost islands and sporadically present at the southernmost ones, while the Upper Palaeolithic and the Mesolithic remain elusive. A complex biography in terms of the region’s paleogeography complicates attempts of palaeoshoreline reconstructions. Coastal areas and their associated archaeology are often lost below the current sea level. In an archaeological record ‘haunted by absences’ (cf. Lucas 2010) making the most out of the available finds is an imperative and at the same time a very challenging task. When, how and who managed to cross the sea in order to reach the islands of the Ionian region? The scrutiny of palaeolithic marine dispersals demonstrates various methodological challenges and epistemological biases that shape archaeological interpretations and build established narratives. To interpret is essentially to reconstruct the past via the use of formalisms, diverse methodologies and constant redefinitions of research objectives. Confronted by numerous constraints, the investigation of the relationship between palaeolithic communities and the sea is a research topic that regained attention since the early 2010s. Are goal-oriented sea-crossings a uniquely modern human characteristic, as it is often suggested? The use of different proxies combined with innovative methodologies may be able to offer new insight regarding this matter. This paper presents a novel approach into the investigation of the human-sea relationship taking as a case study the Central Ionian Sea. Lithics serve as proxies for the identification of past mobility routes. Technological reconstructions and problem-solving experiments can address manufacturing techniques and artefact biographies. Computer simulations test probable, improbable, possible, and impossible sea-crossing scenarios and investigate the degree climatic fluctuations and unprecedented natural phenomena influence such activities and interactions.

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