Apidima Cave | |
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Location | On western Mani Peninsula, west of Areopoli, southern Greece |
Coordinates | 36°39′41″N 22°21′48″E / 36.66139°N 22.36333°E[1] |
Geology | Karstic cave in limestone cliffside |
Entrances | 5 |
List of entrances | A, B, C, D, E |
Access | Only by boat |
Website | fhw |
Apidima Cave (Greek: Σπήλαιο Απήδημα, Spilaio Apidima) is a complex of five caves[2][3][4] located on the western shore of Mani Peninsula in southern Greece. A systematic investigation of the cave has yielded Neanderthal and Homo sapiens fossils from the Palaeolithic era.[5][6]
One skull fossil, given the name Apidima 1,[4] shows a mixture of modern human and primitive features[7] and has been dated to be more than 210,000 years old, older than a Neanderthal skull ("Apidima 2") found at the cave,[7] which per some interpretations makes Apidima 1 the oldest proof of Homo sapiens living outside Africa,[8][9] the second oldest being the maxilla from Misliya Cave in Mount Carmel, Israel, with a maximum age of about 190,000 years ago.[10] Apidima 1 is more than 150,000 years older than previous H. sapiens finds in Europe.[7]
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