Scientists Analyze Bones From Greece’s Franchthi Cave

ATHENS, GREECE—According to a Phys.org report, an international team of researchers from Simon Fraser University, the Greek Ministry of Culture, and the University of Bologna analyzed the chemical composition of collagen samples taken from human remains recovered from Franchthi Cave, a site that now overlooks Greece’s Bay of Koilada. The cave was occupied over a period of about 40,000 years. The remains in the study have been dated to the Mesolithic period, between 8700 and 8500 B.C., and the Neolithic period, between 6600 and 5800 B.C. Previous studies of human bones from the cave have indicated that its inhabitants consumed few marine resources. The new investigation employed high-resolution compound-specific isotope analysis of amino acids, and confirmed the results of previous studies, indicating that these individuals consumed a diet containing a lot of animal protein. The likely sources of this protein were sheep and sheep’s milk from animals that grazed along the shoreline. The researchers added that inhabitants may have eaten fish seasonally or occasionally, noting that the cave was located more than a mile from the coastline during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods. But livestock and crops likely thrived on land now covered by Koilada Bay, they explained. Read the original scholarly article about this research in PLOS ONE. To read about cooking techniques used by hunter-gatherers living in Franchthi Cave, go to "Bon Appetit!"