 Aetokremnos upon its discovery, 1960, with fossil remains in the foreground | |
  Aetokremnos location in Cyprus | |
| Location | nearLimassol |
|---|---|
| Region | southern coast ofCyprus |
| Coordinates | 34°34′14″N32°59′26″E / 34.57056°N 32.99056°E /34.57056; 32.99056 |
| Type | limestone |
| History | |
| Periods | Mesolithic |
| Associated with | Paleo humans |
Aetokremnos is a rock shelter nearLimassol on the southern coast ofCyprus. It is widely considered to host some of the oldest evidence of human habitation of Cyprus, dating to around 12,000 years ago. It is situated on a steep cliff site around 40 m (130 ft) above the Mediterranean Sea. The name means"Cliff of the eagles" inGreek. Around 40 m2 (430 sq ft) have been excavated and out of the four layers documented, the third is sterile.
The site, which is located on aBritish Royal Air Force base, was discovered in 1960 by an anonymous amateur, who reported the find to Stuart Swiny (director of theCyprus American Archaeological Research Institute inNicosia). Swiny noted the existence of flint artifacts and a large number of hippo bones and that much of the site had eroded into theMediterranean. Subsequent study and excavation of the site was conducted by Swiny and other archaeologists.[1]
The site mainly contains bones of the Late Pleistocene endemicCypriot pygmy hippopotamus, which are represented by the remains of over 370 individuals[2] a much smaller amount of theCyprus dwarf elephant representing the remains of at least 3 individuals, andartifacts (around 1,000 flints including thumbnailscrapers of theMesolithic type), which resemble those produced by theNatufian culture of the mainlandLevant. There are no bones that show marks of butchery, but an unusually high frequency (30%) of burned bones. Pygmy hippo bones are the most plentiful making up 74% of the bones, followed by fish remains (25%) and birds, mainlybustards. The presence offallow deer (4 bones) and pig (13 bones) is puzzling, since these animals are only thought to have been introduced in theNeolithic period.[3][4]
According to the excavators,hearth remains are found in the layer containing the bone beds of the extinctmegafauna. This would make it the oldest site on the island and evidence ofEpipalaeolithic occupation. The original 31radiocarbon dates put the date of the bones atc. 12,500 yearsBefore Present (BP). and suggest a short-term occupation. These dates have been challenged as the excavators considered the nine bone dates to be the least reliable and did not agree with the dates of thestratigraphy where they were found. As of 2013 there are now 36 radiocarbon dates of which 13 were taken from animal bones (pig and hippo). A 2013 report states that even discarding these and relying on the other 23 determinations on charcoal, sediment and shells "we reaffirm our original interpretation of a relatively short occupation of some 300 years centered around 11,775 years BP, with a range of 11,652 to 11,955 years BP at one standard deviation, or 11,504 to 12,096 years BP at two standard deviations. This is in general accord with Manning's (2013:501 to 503) masterful compilation of all early Cypriot radiocarbon determinations, in which he places Aetokremnos within an approximate 12,950 to 10,950 years BP range while also preferring a somewhat longer occupation than we presented."[5][6]
There are other deposits with bones of pygmy elephants and hippopotami on the island, but these do not contain artifacts.[1]
The origin of the bones at the site is disputed. Some authors have suggested that the bones were accumulated at the site by humans,[7] while other authors contend that the age distribution curve of the hippotamus bones suggests that the bones accumulated naturally at the site over hundreds of years, and the burnt bones are the result of later fires lit in the rockshelter by humans following their arrival to Cyprus, by which time the bones were already several centuries old.[2]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Geographic | |
| Other | |
