Human – Landscape interaction in Neolithic Kephalonia, W. Greece: the dynamic role of Drakaina Cave within an insular environment

Saturday, May 30, 2015, 10:00am – 10:20am
Presented by Georgia Stratouli, and Odysseas Metaxas
In track II. DYNAMICS OF LANDSCAPES AND SUBSISTENCE

Drakaina Cave is part of an impressive landscape feature, situated on the steep cliffs of a gorge at the coast of southeastern Kephalonia. The location of the cave was most probably conducive to its use for communal gatherings with a social-symbolic aspect. In this framework, a reciprocal relationship should have existed between the landscape and the groups residing in the area: the gorge and the cave were instrumental in shaping the cosmological and mythological narratives of the locals, while those narratives were to a large extent implemental to the appropriation of the landscape through a certain usage of the cave, thus shaping its cultural sequence during the Neolithic.
However, a broader look at the insularity of Kephalonia has to be undertaken. Seafaring was critical for the long-term viability of local groups, but entailed several challenges on a social level. We will argue that certain findings, as well as facets of the cave’s use have a pronounced local, idiosyncratic character and that this was possibly related to the negotiation of ‘local’ vis à vis ‘interlocal’ identities. The use of the cave in the imposing gorge, which was perceived as perennial, highly charged within the local cosmological web, could have a crucial role in balancing the asymmetries created by interregional connectivity. This is significant because the gorge was connecting the natural harbor in its area with the interior of the island, likely to be a locus of contact between the islanders and the neighboring areas, including those on the opposite mainland, through exchange networks.
Therefore a twofold significance of the landscape, i.e. on a local level (the gorge as a monumental feature) and on an interregional level (connectivity through the lens of insularity), can be detected and taken into account in the discussion of the social aspects of the cave’s use.