The fear of the light. Mapping modern cave use strategies in Kythera Island caves

Trimmis, Konstantinos ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9985-3801 2015. The fear of the light. Mapping modern cave use strategies in Kythera Island caves. Ethnoarchaeology Journal of Archaeological, Ethnographic, and Experimental Studies 7 (2) , pp. 141-156. 10.1179/1944289015Z.00000000031

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Abstract

This paper aims to present the modern uses of caves on Kythera Island, Greece as they have been recorded by the Cerigo Speleological Project. Twenty-seven caves have been recorded during the programme, all of which have evidence of human uses that are divided into two large categories, that is, cave-churches and barn-caves. By analyzing how people shaped and organised space and the different ways and practices of people in the caves through the use of advanced mapping and GIS methods, the ways in which people interacted with the environment of the cave and its characteristics have been highlighted. While observing the decision-making process involved in the ways of using the caves today, a discussion is generated as to how valid the two theories are concerning the use of the caves in the Neolithic Aegean and in the eastern Mediterranean area in general. The first theory suggests that people chose caves with different micro-environmental characteristics appropriate for each different use whereas the second theory claims that people did not settle in caves permanently but occasionally or seasonally, depending directly on the economic activities of the neighboring settlements.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	History, Archaeology and Religion
Subjects:	C Auxiliary Sciences of History > CC Archaeology G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GB Physical geography G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GN Anthropology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Kythera, cave use, barn caves, church caves, speleology, paperless mapping, GIS
Publisher:	Maney Publishing and Left Coast Press
ISSN:	1944-2890
Funders:	Nicholas Anthony Aroney Trust
Related URLs:	Publisher
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 March 2016
Date of Acceptance:	April 2015
Last Modified:	14 Nov 2024 23:15
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/78660

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