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OTHER History and Culture of Lesvos (Lesbos) island, Greece T he Eastern Mediterranean was one of the first cradles of mankind. Not only modern man (Homo sapiens sapiens) but his predecessors Neanderthal man (Homo sapiens neanderthalenis) and Homo erectus settled early on the coasts, islands and inland regions of this area of the globe, so favored by nature.
By the last phase of the Neolithic era (up to about 2000 BC), the Eastern Mediterranean area was densely populated, in comparison to general population levels at that time, by peoples racially akin to each other; they could be described in a word as "Mediterraneans" and should be considered the truly indigenous population of the area.
T owns, large and small, have been discovered to date in Lesbos. The oldest ruins date back to 3200-3100 BC. In Thermi, which has been systematically excavated by W. Lamb, five towns were unearthed, one on top of the other. They represent the time period from 3200 to 2400 BC. The first three correspond to Troy I and the other two to Troy II. Only in the most recent level have traces of fortifications been found. They were perhaps build out of the people of Central Asia, who had begun to constitute a threat as they approached the coasts and nearby islands.
T he next thousand years could well be called a dark age, because, for the time being at least no archeological evidence of it has come to light, nor are there any references to it in literature. It should be noted that excavations in Lesbos are still in their early stages: the future may, very probably, bring | |
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