FRANCHTHI CAVE - 2014

Franchthi Cave. N. Munro and M. Stiner (ASCSA) report the completion of zooarchaeological data gathering from the Paleolithic sequence in Trench H1B, the Final Mesolithic-Final Neolithic sequence in Trench FAS and FAN and the Neolithic sequence on the shore. A total of 3020 speciments were identified from the shore excavations while 600 specimens were identified from FAS.

The upper units of the FAS material are of special interest because of diversification in the faunal spectrum of Final Neolithic Units 70-59. This is marked by the increased abundance of pig and several wild taxa (red deer, hedgehog, hare, fox and wildcat). Caprines (sheep and goat) continue to be the most common taxon but may represent as little as 50% of the total assemblage, which is significantly less than before. Carnivore gnawing and digestion continues to be heavy in the upper part of the FAS sequence, suggesting that the dogs occupied the cave during this period.

Fauna was sampled from some, but not all of the units from the following trenches on the shore: L5, L5NE, O5NE, Q4, Q5N and Q6N. Material derives from Early, Middle and Final Neolithic contexts but data have not yet been analyzed to reveal temporal trends. Observations during data collection indicate a dominance of caprines in all contexts. Evidence for carnivore activity is rare on the shore and distinguishes the assemblage from Neolithic contexts in the cave.