Luminescence measurements performed with a lexsygsmart TL/OSL reader contributed to the dating of the earliest known archaeological site in the Central Aegean. The findings provide new insights into how Neanderthals and modern humans may have reached and explored Southeast Europe.
At the Stélida site on the Greek island of Naxos, researchers uncovered around 9,000 stone artifacts within a stratigraphic sequence spanning approximately 13,000 to 200,000 years.
To establish the chronology of the site, the research team analyzed feldspar grains using post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence measurements at 290°C – known as the pIRIR₍₂₉₀₎ protocol. The measurements determine when mineral grains were last exposed to daylight before being deposited and covered by sediment.
Rethinking early migration routes
The results indicate that early humans were active in the Central Aegean much earlier than previously demonstrated. Mousterian stone tools found at the site may represent the first evidence of Neanderthal activity in the region.
At different stages of the Pleistocene, lower sea levels may have exposed land connections that enabled movement between Anatolia and Southeast Europe. The findings also leave open the possibility that early populations crossed sections of the Aegean by sea.
The study demonstrates how precise luminescence dating can establish reliable chronologies beyond the range of radiocarbon dating. Automated and reproducible measurements with the lexsygsmart provided essential data for connecting the archaeological discoveries with broader questions about early human dispersal.
For further details, read the open-access publication in Science Advances.
postIrIr290 measurements of feldspar were used to determine the age of a Palaeolithic site on the Greek island of Naxos to be up to 200,000 years old. Based on these results a new route for the colonization of Europe by early humans is hypothesized.
Reference:
Tristan Carter, Daniel A. Contreras, Justin Holcomb, Danica D. Mihailovic, Panagiotis Karkanas, Guillaume Guérin, Ninon Taffin, Dimitris Athanasoulis, Christelle Lahaye (2019)
Earliest occupation of the Central Aegean (Naxos), Greece: Implications for hominin and Homo sapiens’ behavior and dispersals