Reconsideration of the Antiquity of the Middle Palaeolithic Footprints from Theopetra Cave (Thessaly, Greece)

Bibliographic Data

ID20044304
AuthorsNina Kyparissi-Apostolika, Nina Kyparissi‐apostolika (0000-0003-0828-360X, Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports), Sotiris K Manoli (0000-0003-0585-6644, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), Sotiris K Manolis
Year2021
Pages169-182
Publication date2021-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueReading Prehistoric Human Tracks (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherSpringer International Publishing (PUBLISHER • SG)
DOI10.1007/978-3-030-60406-6_10
OpenAlexW3135835973
ISBN9783030604066
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited19

During the 1996 field season, four footprints were found in undisturbed deposits at the borders of squares Θ10-I10 at a depth of 3.5 m at the Theopetra Cave excavation site. The footprints lie adjacent to an ash horizon that has been dated to ca ~135 ka. Two footprints in the trail are complete and measure 150.4 mm and 138.96 mm in length. Based on modern European standards, these lengths would be consistent with young children aged between 2 and 4 years old and 90–100 cm in stature. The two complete footprints, which follow each other in the trail, appear both to have been left feet. The partial print, which immediately precedes the two complete prints in the series, also appears to have been by a left foot. This suggests that what initially seems to be a single trail is actually a composite of two or more trails of prints. This hypothesis is supported by the different characteristics of the two complete prints. One is consistent with a bare foot and clearly shows the impressions of the toes, ball, arch and heel. The other is characterized by a simpler contour and is more sharply defined and indicates that the individual was wearing some kind of foot covering. An important question is what kind of hominid made the footprints? These footprints may have been made by Neanderthals or early Homo sapiens , based on thermoluminescence dating results

Archaeology · Art · Cave · Excavation · Foot (prosody) · Geography · Geometry · Homo sapiens · Horizon · Evolution and Paleontology Studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Geology · Mathematics · Paleontology · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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