"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 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.

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

"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.

"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.

Old theories for the origins of domesticated animals and plants from the East and the spread of farming and husbandry in Europe have affected generations of archaeologists, resulting in several theories of migrations of populations. However, there is no evidence in the archaeological record of population movements from the East, while so far the contribution of the pre-Neolithic populations of the Aegean has been neglected. This book shows that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers developed a dense maritime network on the Aegean islands and contributed to the Neolithisation process, transferring domesticated species from the East to the Aegean through Cyprus. Their great specialization in fishing and long journeys was due to a tradition that had roots in the Palaeolithic period. This text is based on practical experience from excavations and surface surveys over the past 25 years in Mesolithic and Neolithic sites in the Aegean Basin and continental Greece.