Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes

Predictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model d...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Theodora Moutsiou, Christian Reepmeyer, Vasiliki Kassianidou, Zomenia Zomeni, Athos Agapiou
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550414/?tool=EBI
_version_ 1818717188389863424
author Theodora Moutsiou
Christian Reepmeyer
Vasiliki Kassianidou
Zomenia Zomeni
Athos Agapiou
author_facet Theodora Moutsiou
Christian Reepmeyer
Vasiliki Kassianidou
Zomenia Zomeni
Athos Agapiou
author_sort Theodora Moutsiou
collection DOAJ
description Predictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model delineates landscape characteristics that denote areas with high potential to unearth Pleistocene archaeology while at the same time highlighting localities that should be excluded. The predictive model was employed in surface surveys to systematically access high probability locales on Cyprus. A number of newly identified localities suggests that the true density of mobile hunter-gatherer sites on Cyprus is seriously underestimated in current narratives. By adding new data to this modest corpus of early insular sites, we are able to contribute to debates regarding island colonisation and the role of coastal environments in human dispersals to new territories.
first_indexed 2024-12-17T19:31:11Z
format Article
id doaj.art-2ed600b1d2cc466d9c0768996f8a81c5
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-17T19:31:11Z
publishDate 2021-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-2ed600b1d2cc466d9c0768996f8a81c52022-12-21T21:35:14ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032021-01-011610Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapesTheodora MoutsiouChristian ReepmeyerVasiliki KassianidouZomenia ZomeniAthos AgapiouPredictive models have become an integral part of archaeological research, particularly in the discovery of new archaeological sites. In this paper, we apply predictive modeling to map high potential Pleistocene archaeological locales on the island of Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean. The model delineates landscape characteristics that denote areas with high potential to unearth Pleistocene archaeology while at the same time highlighting localities that should be excluded. The predictive model was employed in surface surveys to systematically access high probability locales on Cyprus. A number of newly identified localities suggests that the true density of mobile hunter-gatherer sites on Cyprus is seriously underestimated in current narratives. By adding new data to this modest corpus of early insular sites, we are able to contribute to debates regarding island colonisation and the role of coastal environments in human dispersals to new territories.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550414/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Theodora Moutsiou
Christian Reepmeyer
Vasiliki Kassianidou
Zomenia Zomeni
Athos Agapiou
Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes
PLoS ONE
title Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes
title_full Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes
title_fullStr Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes
title_full_unstemmed Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes
title_short Modelling the Pleistocene colonisation of Eastern Mediterranean islandscapes
title_sort modelling the pleistocene colonisation of eastern mediterranean islandscapes
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8550414/?tool=EBI
work_keys_str_mv AT theodoramoutsiou modellingthepleistocenecolonisationofeasternmediterraneanislandscapes
AT christianreepmeyer modellingthepleistocenecolonisationofeasternmediterraneanislandscapes
AT vasilikikassianidou modellingthepleistocenecolonisationofeasternmediterraneanislandscapes
AT zomeniazomeni modellingthepleistocenecolonisationofeasternmediterraneanislandscapes
AT athosagapiou modellingthepleistocenecolonisationofeasternmediterraneanislandscapes