This fascicle describes the background of the Franchthi project and its excavation history and methodology. Particle size, mineralogy, and chemistry are all taken into consideration as the cultural remains and the sediments from the cave are analyzed to determine their origin and history. William Farrand constructs an integrated stratigraphy for the entire cave using excavators' notes, laboratory analyses, and personal field data to correlate sequences in separate trenches. On the basis of some 60 radiocarbon dates, the evolution and chronology of the sedimentary fill is postulated.

"With the long-awaited publication of these three volumes we have the first thorough documentation of one of the most important prehistoric sites in the Mediterranean, that of Franchthi Cave in the Argolid Peninsula of Greece." --American Anthropologist "... the archaeological and paleoenvironmental data from Franchthi Cave are unique in providing a site-specific record of the cultural responses to great environmental changes." --Quarterly Research "Fascicle I is an introduction to the monograph series. It is complemented by a set of maps, plans, and profiles, most of them oversized, needed to match the scope of the project. The maps are of excellent quality... " --American Antiquity This volume is an introduction to the series as well as the site and excavations. Its principal purpose is to provide a group of illustrations, many of them oversized, fundamental to the stratigraphic and environmental interpretation of the site.

"With the long-awaited publication of these three volumes we have the first thorough documentation of one of the most important prehistoric sites in the Mediterranean, that of Franchthi Cave in the Argolid Peninsula of Greece." —American Anthropologist " . . . the archaeological and paleoenvironmental data from Franchthi Cave are unique in providing a site-specific record of the cultural responses to great environmental changes." —Quarterly Research This volume describes the evolution of the landscape around Franchthi Cave over 25,000 years, its impact on prehistoric inhabitants, and theirs on it.

This is the second volume of Catherine Perlès's study of the chipped/flaked stone tools found at Franchthi Cave, the first of its kind in Greek archaeology, if not in the whole of southeastern European prehistory. In French.

Accompanying CD-ROM contains ... "plates."--P. [4] of cover.