The prehistoric human skull found in the Petralona Cave in Northern Greece challenges the Out of Africa theory of the origin of Homo sapiens.
The human skull discovered in the Chalkidiki cave is one million years old and has generated an ongoing, decades-long debate over its age: Is it 700,000 or 200,000 years old?
If indeed it is 700,000 years old, as some prestigious scientists believe, the skull throws out the Out of Africa theory according to which the Homo sapiens developed first in Africa and then spread throughout the world about 200,000 years ago. In other words, the skull discovered is indeed around 700,000 years old and belongs to a species that developed in Europe.
The story behind the debate began in 1959 when a shepherd in the Petralona area of Chalkidiki accidentally discovered a prehistoric cave. Archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists began researching the rich findings, such as stone and bone tools, indicating the presence of pre-human species.
The cave also provided shelter to wild animals, including lions, bears, and hyenas, as evidenced by the majority of fossils found.
The most important finding was a human skull embedded in a wall, which has perplexed archaeologists, paleontologists, and anthropologists and led to an ongoing debate about the period it belongs to.
Dr Poulianos and his theory
Dr Aris Poulianos, an expert anthropologist, member of UNESCO’s IUAES (International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences), and later founder of the Anthropological Association of Greece, was an expert anthropologist who was teaching at the University of Moscow at the time.
Dr Poulianos is the author of the book “The Origin of the Greeks” published in 1961. In his book, he discards older theories that Greek people originated from the Slavs but they were, in fact, indigenous to the land of Greece.
In 1964, the book resonated with then-Prime Minister Constantine Karamanlis, who invited Dr. Poulianos to return to Greece to assume the position of University Chair in Athens. A protocol was signed, granting him access to the cave to begin his research. Upon returning to Greece, Dr. Poulianos immediately commenced his study of the Petralona cave and the exceptional skull.
Based on the findings and the environment of the cave, along with the study of the skull, the Greek anthropologist concluded that the ‘Petralona man’ or ‘Archanthropus of Petralona’, as it has since been called, was 700,000 years old. His argument was primarily based on the skull’s nearly perfect structure, the shape of its dental arch, and the construction of the occipital bone. This made him the oldest human europoid (presenting European traits) of that age ever discovered in Europe. Dr. Poulianos’ research showed that the Petralona man evolved separately in Europe and was not an ancestor of a species that came out of Africa.
In 1964, independent German researchers, anthropologist E. Breitinger and paleontologist O. Sickenberg attempted to dismiss Dr. Poulianos’ findings, arguing that the skull was only 50,000 years old and was the first human to have come from Africa. However, research published in the US in 1971 in the prestigious Archaeology magazine supported the findings that the skull was indeed 700,000 years old. This determination was based on an analysis of the cave’s stratigraphy and the sediment in which the skull was embedded. Further research in the cave uncovered isolated teeth and two pre-human skeletons dating back 800,000 years, along with other fossils of various species.
The skull was also examined by six universities, where 11 different dating attempts were made by researchers. Nobel laureate Alan Nairn of the University of South Carolina used the “paleomagnetism” method and confirmed the Poulianos hypothesis. Likewise, Osaka University professor Motoji Ikeya used the “electronic angular momentum” method and verified the Greek professor’s finding that the skull was indeed approximately 700,000 years old.
More experts confirm the ‘Petralona Man’ origin
Further excavations and fossil analysis in the Petralona cave with the participation of international researchers (46 specialists from 12 different countries), provided further proof of Dr Poulianos’ claims. The findings include fossilized pieces of wood, an oak leaf, animal hair, and coprolites. The almost continuous presence of stone and bone tools of the Archanthropus evolutionary stage, from the lower (750,000 years) to the upper (550,000 years) layers of sediment within the cave enabled the accurate dating.
The research was interrupted during the military dictatorship in Greece (April 1967 – July 1974) but continued afterward. Most academics who have analyzed the Petralona remains say that the cranium of the Archanthropus of Petralona belongs to an archaic hominid distinguished from Homo erectus, and both the classic Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans, but shows characteristics of all those species and presents strong European traits. A skull dating back 700,000 which is either Homo sapiens or part Homo sapiens is in direct conflict with the Out of Africa theory of human evolution.
Most scholars believe that the Petralona skull belongs to an ancient human. Independent paleoanthropologists have tended to classify the skull as either Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis, or Homo neanderthalensis, with strong European traits and characteristics of Homo erectus, Neanderthals, and sapiens, but they distinguish it from all these species.
While the Poulianos claim seemed far-fetched in the first years of the cave study, in the next decades, due also to Petralona excavating data, other European Palaeo-anthropological sites were proven to be of a similar age (700,000 years). Sites such as Mauer (Germany), Isernia (Italy), or Boxgrove (England) emerged supporting Poulianos’ claims. Discoveries such as in Atapuerca (Spain), Ceprano (Italy), or Dmanissi (Caucasus) reconfirmed the initial idea that humans existed in Europe 2 million years ago, if not more.
The Greek government stops further Petralona Skull research
In 1983 the Greek government ordered that all excavations at the site were forbidden to anyone, including the original archaeological team. For the next 15 years, no one had access to the site or the findings for the next 15 years. The authorities did not provide a reason.
Dr. Poulianos and the Anthropological Society of Greece took the case to the courts, and 15 years of access was allowed to the cave. Since then the Ministry of Culture has been trying to override the Supreme Court decision and further court hearings ensued.
An important conclusion of Dr. Poulianos’ research is the co-existence of all main anthropological types (African–Kobi, Asian – Beijing, and European–Petralona) at almost the same period (700,000, 500,00,0, and 750,000 respectively). That means the dating of the appearance of today’s human populations (races or, even better, phyllae) and not to only 10,000 or 30,000 years as currently considered worldwide.
Dr. Poulianos’ findings contradicted conventional views on human evolution, and his research was suppressed. Reportedly, the paleontologist and his wife were physically attacked and injured in their home in 2012, and the culprits were never found. He and his team have been denied further access to the cave to complete their research and study, and the skull’s whereabouts are now unknown.
A sign outside the Petralona cave states that the skull found in the cave was 300,000 years old, and on Wikipedia, the Petralona skull is dated within the widely acceptable parameters – between 160,000 and 240,000 years old.
Dr Poulianos’ cover-up claims
Throughout his struggle to investigate further and study the cave, despite the hurdles put by archaeologists and the Ministry, Dr Poulianos had the help of his son, Dr Nickos Poulianos. He claimed that the Petralona skull is a monumental discovery that “the powers-that-be do not want us to have access to.”
Dr Poulianos said that a plaque outside the cave with his name on it was crudely vandalized to erase his name, even though part of it shows.
In December 2018, Dr Poulianos wrote to the Ancient Origins website to state that unfortunately, the suppression of information regarding the Petralona skull has continued:
“Experiencing the above I am asserting that the prohibition of research regarding human history is due to the following (most obvious, i.e. not exposing political) reasons:
Various (Worldwide) Universities and their state-allied forums have the power to influence all of the small national institutions in order to achieve the aforementioned prohibition. In turn, this is most probably due to the fact that such research is allowed only to some “confidential” persons. Thus, re-righting chapters of human history is only their “right”. Whoever does not belong to such clubs and/or forums has to be stopped by all existing means, even by falsifying the truth against well-documented evidence (i.e. without providing any scientific contradicting argument). Obviously, I am asserting that knowledge is under control, especially what concerns human history. Therefore I agree with Lenie Reedijk’s description regarding the “Cover Up”, as well as the following comments to her article.”
The Petralona Cave opened again to the public in March 2024 after a five-year-long restoration process to offer better accessibility to visitors. It was a long project overseen by the Paleoanthropology-Speleology Ephorate of Greece’s Ministry of Culture.
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