A 130,000-year timeline in stone
The Theopetra Cave, a 500-square-meter cavern at the foot of a limestone hill, contains an almost continuous record of human occupation from 135,000 years ago. Its geological deposits, up to six meters deep in some areas, document a history that spans the Middle Palaeolithic, Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods. This unique stratigraphy provides evidence for major shifts in human history, including the replacement of Neanderthals by anatomically modern humans.
The oldest and most striking evidence of human presence are four footprints preserved in a soft ash floor, dated to approximately 135,000 years ago. Analysis suggests these prints were made by several Neanderthal children, estimated to be between two and seven years old, who walked across the remains of a fire. The tracks are among the oldest hominin footprints found in Europe. Excavations led by archaeologist Dr. Nina Kyparissi-Apostolika, which began in 1987, have also unearthed stone tools, animal bones, and five human burials from the Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. DNA was successfully extracted from two Mesolithic skeletons, both belonging to mtDNA Haplogroup K1c.
The first climate control
At the entrance of the cave stands a modest stone wall, which analysis has shown to be the oldest known human-made structure on Earth. Using a technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence, which measures the last time quartz grains were exposed to light, researchers dated its construction to 23,000 years ago. This period coincides with the Last Glacial Maximum, the coldest phase of the last ice age.
The wall, a simple construction of unshaped rocks, blocked about two-thirds of the cave's large entrance. Its placement indicates a deliberate attempt to modify the environment for survival. By shielding the inhabitants from frigid winds, the structure is a prehistoric example of climate-control technology. This discovery challenges previous timelines of human construction, predating Egypt's Great Pyramid by over 18,000 years. The cave's inhabitants also left behind evidence of their changing diet, from hunted animals like deer and bear to cultivated plants like wheat and barley, as they transitioned from a hunter-gatherer to an agricultural society.