Radiocarbon evidence shows for human presence at least 50,000 years ago.[2] Excavations began in 1987 under the direction of Ν. Kyparissi-Apostolika, which were meant to answer questions about Paleolithic Thessaly.
Several features of the cave indicate human occupation.[3][4]
Theopetra Cave contains one of the longest archaeological sequences in Greece, comprising Middle and UpperPalaeolithic as well asMesolithic andNeolithic cultural remains.[5][6][7] The records have shown important palaeoenvironmental data based on sedimentary features and botanical remains.[8]
There are unverified claims that the cave contains a low wall, built in approximately 21,000 BC. If true, this would be the oldest known example of a human-made structure.[9]
Geologically, the formation of the limestone rock has been dated to theUpper Cretaceous period, 135–65 million years BP.[10][11]
In 2016, researchers successfully extracted the DNA from the tibia of two individuals buried in Theopetra Cave. Both individuals were found in a Mesolithic burial context and separately dated to 7288–6771 BCE and 7605–7529 BCE. Both individuals were found to belong to mtDNAHaplogroup K1c.[12]
The cave is located just to the north, within walking distance, of the center of Theopetra village. The Theopetra Cave Museum (Greek:Μουσείο Σπηλαίου Θεόπετρας) is located in the village.
^Karkanas, Panagiotis; White, Dustin;Lane, Christine S.; Stringer, Chris; Davies, William; Cullen, Victoria L.; Smith, Victoria C.; Ntinou, Maria; Tsartsidou, Georgia; Kyparissi-Apostolika, Nina (June 2015). "Tephra correlations and climatic events between the MIS6/5 transition and the beginning of MIS3 in Theopetra Cave, central Greece".Quaternary Science Reviews.118:170–181.Bibcode:2015QSRv..118..170K.doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.05.027.
^Kyparissi-Apostolika N. (1998). "The Significance of Theopetra Cave for Greek Prehistory".Préhistoire d' Anatolie Genèse de Deux Mondes. pp. 241–252.
^Kyparissi-Apostolika N. (1999). "The Palaeolithic deposits of Theopetra Cave in Thessaly (Greece)".The Palaeolithic Archaeology of Greece and Adjacent Areas. pp. 232–239.
^Panagopoulou E. (1999). "The Theopetra middle palaeolithic assemblages: Their relevance to the middle palaeolithic of Greece and adjacent areas".Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on the Palaeolithic of Greece and Adjacent Areas (ICOPAG). Athens, Greece:British School at Athens:252–265.
^Ardaens, E. (1978).Geologie de la chaine du Vardussia, comparaison avec le massif du Koziakas (Grèce Continentale) (in French). Lille, France: Th è se 3 è me cycle.
^Karkanas, P. (1999).Lithostratigraphy and micromorphology of Theopetra cave deposits, Thessaly, Greece: Some preliminary results. Vol. 3. Athens, Greece: Studies of theBritish School at Athens. pp. 240–251.
^Hofmanová, Zuzana; Kreutzer, Susanne; Hellenthal, Garrett; Sell, Christian; Diekmann, Yoan; Díez-del-Molino, David; van Dorp, Lucy; López, Saioa; Kousathanas, Athanasios; Link, Vivian; Kirsanow, Karola; Cassidy, Lara M.; Martiniano, Rui; Strobel, Melanie; Scheu, Amelie; Kotsakis, Kostas; Halstead, Paul; Triantaphyllou, Sevi; Kyparissi-Apostolika, Nina; Urem-Kotsou, Dushka; Ziota, Christina; Adaktylou, Fotini; Gopalan, Shyamalika; Bobo, Dean M.; Winkelbach, Laura; Blöcher, Jens; Unterländer, Martina; Leuenberger, Christoph; Çilingiroğlu, Çiler; Horejs, Barbara; Gerritsen, Fokke; Shennan, Stephen J.; Bradley, Daniel G.; Currat, Mathias; Veeramah, Krishna R.; Wegmann, Daniel; Thomas, Mark G.; Papageorgopoulou, Christina; Burger, Joachim (2016)."Early farmers from across Europe directly descended from Neolithic Aegeans".Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.113 (25):6886–6891.doi:10.1073/pnas.1523951113.ISSN0027-8424.PMC4922144.PMID27274049.
