The Palaeoenvironment of Some Archaeological Sites in Greece: The Influence of Accumulated Uplift in a Seismically Active Region

Abstract

Observations made soon after recent major earthquakes in Algeria, California and Japan have shown that repeated motions on buried fault planes in seismically active areas cause incremental folding of the overlying rocks and sediments. The deformation causes characteristic changes to river profiles and is therefore a factor which must be considered when applying techniques of site catchment analysis in areas of tectonic uplift. Here we examine the relationship between tectonic uplift and the palaeoenvironments of palaeolithic sites in North-west Greece, which is one of the most seismically active areas of Europe. Uplift can substantially alter local topography and sediment distributions and therefore undermine the economic viability of human settlements. Paradoxically uplift can also create stable conditions highly favourable to long-term habitation in two ways: by maintaining well-watered sediment traps which provide a climatically insensitive environment; by accentuating enclosed topography, which facilitates the control of mobile prey species.