Exploring Paleogeographic Conditions at TwoPaleolithic Sites inNavarino, SouthwestGreece, Dated by Optically Stimulated Luminescence

Abstract

In this paper, we employed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sediments from two archaeological sites located inNavarino,Messenia, southwesternGreece, to deduce a chronology for the archaeological sites. Archaeological surveys identified twoPaleolithic sites on fossilized coastal dunes. Chipped stone tool assemblages were identified eroding out of paleosols developed in the dunes. The assemblage from one site lacked distinct typological features and hence it was difficult to assign to a chronological period. The lithic assemblage from the other site contained artifacts that typologically can be assigned to theLevallois‐Mousterian. Previous efforts to date the artifact‐bearing sediments at these sites were unsuccessful. Using newerOSLdating methods (i.e., the Single‐Aliquot‐Regenerated Dose protocol and thermally transferred‐OSL[TT‐OSL]), we attempted to construct a chronological framework forLatePleistocene human activity in the southwestPeloponnese. The revisedOSLchronology for the first site is 28 ± 5 ka, while a luminescence age of 8 ± 1 ka for the second site only represents a later deflation event. Within the framework ofQuaternary environmental change, the location ofPaleolithic sites relative to the coast would have changed during the course of thePleistocene. As a result,Paleolithic exploitation strategies would have been strongly influenced by the changing coastal geomorphology, encouraging hominids to adapt to new distributions of resources.OSLdating of the archaeological sites allowed us to connect traces of hominid activity with climatic stadials/interstadials of the laterPleistocene derived from existing relative sea‐level curves. Ultimately, these data permitted the reconstruction of regionalLatePleistocene paleogeography. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.