Exploring aspects of Neanderthal mobility in the Mani Peninsula: Evidence from Lithic Raw Material procurement and management at Kalamakia Cave, Greece

Abstract

The Kalamakia cave located on the western Mani Peninsula, southern Greece is a Middle Palaeolithic site dated between ∼100,000 and >39,000 years BP. The aim of this paper is to provide insights into the Neanderthal groups’ mobility by addressing the lithic raw material procurement and management, with reference to the Kalamakia cave assemblage. The methodology included field survey and laboratory analyses, encompassing macroscopic, petrographic, and geochemical ones, for the location and identification of the sources of used lithic raw materials. Local, semi-local and allochthonous lithic raw materials were used by the Neanderthals at the Kalamakia cave to manufacture tools. The presence of various lithic raw materials used at the cave suggests diverse mobility strategies. The semi-local black/grey chert, followed by the allochthonous andesite was mostly used. Andesite transported across an east–west axis presents a long-term stability, both in terms of percentages and the different artefact types transported in both Unit III and IV of the cave. The significant quantities of andesite in the cave’s assemblage suggest non-random mobility, possibly linked to the exploitation of different ecological environments available in the region. The north-western part of the peninsula saw additional exploitation by groups moving along the coastal north–south corridor. However, cherts transported along this axis occurred occasionally, and their quantities were notably smaller in comparison to andesite. The strategic location of the cave close to the intersection of two natural movement routes, may have played a key role in the circulation of Palaeolithic inhabitants, facilitating movements along east–west and north–south axes.