Archaeological gleanings in Plakias

Despite the long-lasting inspection in the history of Crete, there has been no evidence for inhabitation of the island prior to the Neolithic period. However, a multidisciplinary team headed by Thomas Strasser and Eleni Panagopoulou, has carried out investigations in the area of Plakias in order to track down Mesolithic remains. Most of the team discoveries were found mainly in Preveli Canyon and date from 130,000 till 700,000 years ago. The tools, mainly axes, relate to a cultural tradition closely associated to the Homo heidelbergensis and Homo erectus. Given the fact that Crete was an island even then, these tools represent the most ancient indication of navigation internationally. The Paleolithic tools were found in relevance to up cast marine terraces that geologists date at 130,000 years, at least. The research results substantiate sea wanderings around the Mediterranean thousands of years earlier than what we had thought of. According to the magazine Archaeology, the archaeological gleanings found in the area of Plakias and Preveli in Crete are included in the ten most important discoveries for 2010.