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]
Findings include a man-made stone wall that is still standing today, which was built in approximately 21,000 BCE. It is the oldest known example of a man-made structure.[9] The wall is thought to have been built to protect its residents from cold winds at the height of the last ice age.
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.
