Overview of MAR18-1A and MAR18-2A drill core analysis and chronological framework

Abstract

Greece, with its position between continental Europe, Africa and Asia, is an important crossroad for the hominin migration into Europe (e.g., Harvati et al., 2009; Tourloukis and Karkanas, 2012; Harvati, 2016; Harvati et al., 2018). Its significance as a glacial refuge or simply as a transit region is still heavily debated due to the scarcity of archaeological evidence from the Paleolithic (Agustí et al., 2009; Harvati, 2016; Muttoni et al., 2013; Reyes-Centeno et al., 2017; Stewart and Stringer, 2012; Tsakanikou et al., 2021). The archaeological site Marathousa (MAR-1), located in the Megalopolis Basin on the central Peloponnese, is one of only four Lower Paleolithic sites identified in the country until recently (Tourloukis and Harvati, 2018). Its preservation and chronological framework are optimal for investigating the significance of the region as a glacial refugium or simply a transit region. The Megalopolis Basin consists mainly of lignite-bearing fluvio-lacustrine sediments. The basin filling was drilled and cored in 2018, retrieving two complete cores (MAR18-1A and MAR18-2A) and first results are presented here.