The Gravettian of the Southern Balkans revised: The stone industries from Tripsana, Skoini 3, Skoini 4 and Melitzia caves (Mani Peninsula, Southern Greece)

The Gravettian or the Gravettoidal in Greece is characterized by many chronological and occupational hiatuses between 34 and 24 cal ka BP. In this paper we present the stone industries from four caves located at the most Southern extreme end of mainland Greece, Southern Peloponnese (Mani Peninsula). The AMS dates provided here suggest that typical Gravettian elements begin to appear around 31 cal ka BP. At the same time the sites present strong affinities with the Central Balkans in terms of chronologies and lithic production. The assemblages are dominated by single straight backed bladelets and backed points, suggesting an extremely specialized use and exploitation of the sites around the Oitylo Bay. Yet the time-period between 31 and 24 cal ka BP remains obscure, suggesting a rather late arrival of the Gravettian hunters in the area compared with Central Europe and the Northeastern Peloponnese (Klisoura I cave).