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In this article we present the new open-air Middle Pleistocene locality Marathousa 2, which was discovered during a double intensive and targeted field survey in the lignite mines of the Megalopolis basin (Greece). The locality is situated just below the Lignite Seam III of the Marathousa Member (Choremi Formation), and its similar stratigraphic position with the chronologically well-constrained locality Marathousa 1 (dated between 500 and 400 ka and correlated to the Marine Isotope Stage 12) indicates a comparable age for Marathousa 2. The locality most notably yielded dental and postcranial remains of Hippopotamus, with those found at the locality’s Area A most likely belonging to a single individual. The dimensions of the dental elements support an attribution to H. antiquus, a large-sized taxon, almost twice as large as the recent common H. amphibius, and with strong aquatic habits. Cut marks identified on a thoracic vertebra indicate hominin butchering of the carcass. Preliminary paleoenvironmental remarks based on the mammal and mollusk fauna, indicate that hominin activities took place at the margins of or near a perhaps cold freshwater water body, but with temperatures that allowed its persistence throughout the year, and perhaps under drier conditions compared to preceding and succeeding periods in the basin. In addition to the exploitation of elephants in Marathousa 1, Marathousa 2 provides further evidence of megafauna exploitation during the Middle Pleistocene in the Megalopolis Basin and one of the few examples of hippopotamus carcass processing during the Lower Paleolithic in Europe. Therefore, it advances our knowledge of the food acquisition strategies and subsistence behavior of Pleistocene Homo, and highlights the need for further research in the basin, where megafauna is well recorded., PaleoAnthropology, Vol. 2023 No. 1 (2023): (in progress)

The site of Apidima, in southern Greece, is one of the most important Paleolithic sites in Greece and southeast Europe. One of the caves belonging to this cave complex, Cave A, has yielded human fossil crania Apidima 1 and 2, showing the presence of an early Homo sapiens population followed by a Neanderthal one in the Middle Pleistocene. Less known are the human remains reportedly recovered from Cave C at Apidima. These include a number of isolated elements, but also a partial skeleton interpreted as a female burial, Apidima 3, proposed by Pitsios (e.g., Pitsios 1999) to be associated with Aurignacian lithics and to date to ca. 30 ka. In light of the rarity of the Upper Paleolithic in Greece, and the general scarcity of human remains associated with the Aurignacian, the remains from Apidima Cave C are potentially very significant in elucidating the arrival of the early Upper Paleolithic populations in Europe. Here we undertake direct Uranium-series dating of three human samples from Cave C, including the burial, to help clarify their chronology. Results suggest a minimum age of terminal Pleistocene for all three samples.

In recent decades, a significant number of Pleistocene (ca. 2.6 million years–10,000 years ago) open-air and cave sites yielding elephant or mammoth bones in direct association with hominin remains and/or lithic artifacts have been discovered in Eurasia, Africa and America. Many of them show strong evidence of acquisition and processing of proboscidean carcasses by early humans, leading scientists to interpret them as “elephant butchering sites”. Indeed, proboscidean exploitation by early Homo has been proposed to have been critical for Palaeolithic human lifeways, influencing not only their subsistence, but also other aspects of early human evolution and adaptations. The nature and degree of interactions between humans and elephants comprises an important field in palaeoanthropological studies since decades, but many questions remain still unanswered or partially explored. By bringing together research papers from the fields of Palaeolithic Archaeology, Palaeoanthropology, Palaeontology, Zooarchaeology, Geology, Ethnography and Nutrition Studies, the book systematically covers a diverse array of perspectives on elephant-human interactions across the world from the Pleistocene times until today. The volume includes 19 contributions and is organized into four thematic sections: 1) The Palaeolithic record, 2) A view of the evidence, 3) Elephants in past human nutrition, and 4) Ethnography – Human-elephant interactions in recent Africa. Collectively, the volume not only showcases the current state of knowledge, but also intends to provoke renewed interest for current and further research, and build an interdisciplinary and synthetic understanding of the significance of proboscideans throughout human evolution. The symposium and the volume "Human-elephant interactions: from past to present" were funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Lithics and cut-marked mammal bones, excavated from the paleo-lake Marathousa 1 (MAR-1) sediments in the Megalopolis Basin, southern Greece, indicate traces of hominin activity occurring along a paleo-shoreline ca. 444,000years (444ka) ago. However, the local environment and climatic conditions promoting hominin activity in the area during the MIS12 glacial remain largely unknown. In order to reconstruct the paleo-environment including paleo-lake levels and governing paleo-climatic factors on a high temporal resolution, we analyzed a 6-meter-long sediment sequence from the archeological site MAR-1 and a Bayesian age model was computed for a better age constrain of the different sedimentary units. A multiproxy approach was applied using ostracods, sponge spicules, diatoms, grain sizes, total organic carbon, total inorganic carbon and conventional X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results from the site represent a protected region surrounded by high mountains under the constant influence of water, either as a shallow partly anoxic water body surrounded by reed belts (>463–457ka

In recent years, a significant number of Pleistocene localities with evidence of proboscidean exploita- tion by humans has been discovered, substantial- ly enriching our knowledge on Homo subsistence strategies and megafauna acquisition. In this study, we provide a synthesis of the evidence for Pro- boscidea-Homo interactions in Early and Middle Pleistocene open-air sites of western Eurasia with direct (e.g., presence of cut marks, proboscidean bone artifacts, fractures for marrow extraction) and indirect (e.g., association and refitting of lithic ar- tifacts, use-wear analysis) evidence of exploitation. Sex and ontogenetic age of butchered proboscide- ans are recorded, in order to assess possible human preferences. Furthermore, we investigate the role of large carnivores focusing on important renew- als in the carnivore guilds, and their significance in terms of carrion availability for scavenging and human-carnivore competition for access to food resources. By applying an ecomorphological/be- havioral approach, we examine the large carnivore community structure and dynamics, with empha- sis in the hunting strategies of large predators. Ad- ditionally, we aim to infer their possible role in the changes of early human subsistence strategies fo- cusing on proboscidean acquisition, and to explore the role of humans within the predatory guild. The ecological adaptations of the two common Middle Pleistocene proboscideans in Europe, the Europe- an straight-tusked elephant Palaeoloxodon antiquus and the steppe mammoth Mammuthus trogonthe- rii, are also evaluated. Finally, we discuss various aspects of the Homo bio-cultural evolution during the period under study, including developments in material culture and relevant inferences about hu- man social behavior. The symposium and the volume "Human-elephant interactions: from past to present" were funded by the Volkswagen Foundation.

Following the discovery and excavation of the Lower Palaeolithic butchering locality Marathousa 1 (MAR-1; Megalopolis Basin, Peloponnesus, Greece), conducted by the Ephoreia of Paleoanthropology and Speleology, Greek Ministry of Culture in collaboration with the American School of Classical Studies at Athens, led to the discovery of a new open-air locality, Marathousa 2 (MAR-2), approximately 1.5 km eastern of MAR-1, where stratified fossils were identified on a profile of the Marathousa Member (Choremi Formation), directly below the Lignite Unit III of the Marathousa mine. Two areas were designated, both yielding so far mainly hippopotamid bones: Area A with (cervical and thoracic) vertebrae and ribs belonging to a single individual of Hippopotamus, as well as a mandibular fragment of a fallow deer (Dama sp.), and Area B, about 90 m NW, with isolated dental Hippopotamus specimens. The fossils in both areas occur in the same stratigraphic layer, which consists of brown, organic-rich, clayey fine sands with clay clasts. Although the vertebral plates fuse towards the end of the epiphyseal bone fusing sequence in mammals, the unfused plates of the vertebrae from Area A indicate that they belong to a juvenile-young individual. The study of the dental specimens revealed that they belong to the large-sized Hippopotamus antiquus. This species was present in Europe during the Early–Middle Pleistocene, and although its last occurrences are quite vague, it seems that it was replaced by the extant H. amphibius during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene . Hippopotamus antiquus is already known from MAR-1, dated to between 500 and 400 ka, and the similar stratigraphic position of MAR-2, indicates a comparable age for the locality. Hippopotamus antiquus was a largesized hippopotamid, more than twice as big as the extant H. amphibius, and was highly dependent on water and aquatic vegetation; therefore, its presence indicates the existence of large and permanent freshwater bodies, and, together with the presence of the fallow deer, temperate climatic conditions. The good state of preservation of the MAR-2 bones allows the identification of taphonomic modifications. Of particular importance is a Hippopotamus thoracic vertebra, which shows striations almost at the middle of the lateral side of the spinous process. The three-dimensional virtual reconstructions of the striations with the use of a confocal microscope enabled their micromorphological study and their identification as cut marks. The presence of cut marks indicate human modification of the vertebra by means of butchering activities, possibly attributed to filleting. In addition to the exploitation of straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxodon antiquus) in MAR-1, MAR-2 constitutes further evidence of megafauna exploitation during the Middle Pleistocene in the Megalopolis Basin and one of the few examples of hippopotami carcass processing during the Lower Palaeolithic in Europe. As such, it contributes to the better knowledge of the food acquisition strategies and subsistence behavior of Pleistocene Homo, and emphasizes the need for further research in the basin.

The present study describes the sedimentology and formation processes of the archaeological siteMarathousa 1, part of a Pleistocene lignite-bearing succession at the Megalopolis basin (SouthernGreece). The sedimentary sequence of the site comprises about 4e5 m lacustrine andfluviolacustrineclastic deposits found between Lignite Seam II and III. The lower part of this sequence is characterized byrelatively high rate subaqueous sedimentation of bedded sands and silts with local evidence of slumpingand liquefaction attributed to a seismic event. This part of the sequence containsfluctuating butgenerally low organic and carbonate content probably associated with cold and arid conditions of aglacial period. The upper part of the sequence follows a major hiatus attributed to exposure and erosion.A series of erosional bounded depositional units are observed in this sequence suggesting importantwater-levelfluctuations. The subaqueous emplacement of the deposits is attributed to subaerialflood-generated, organic- and carbonate-rich dilute mudflows and hyperconcentratedflows. Organic-richsedimentation culminates with the formation of the overlying lignite seam. This change is interpretedas a gradual return to warmer and humid conditions of an interglacial period.The fossiliferous and cultural levels at Marathousa 1 are associated with the major erosional andexposed surface found in the upper part of the sequence. This surface was part of an extensive mudflatsurrounding the lake shore at that time. The overlying mudflows have locally redistributed and buriedthe archaeological remains, thus preserving this very important butchering site.