Clarifications on dating of the skull known as “Petralonian man” It is provided by the committee of Museum (GE-PA-PAL) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), on the occasion of recent publications and discussions in the electronic press and social networks.

The skull, found in 1960 in the homonymous settlement, remains part of the GE-PA-PAL collection with a registration number. Lgput pec-1. The museum’s relevant collection from Petralona cave It has about 2,000 samples, the result of systematic paleontological excavations conducted in the AUTH in the 1960s. The authentic skull has not been transferred or borrowed to another institution, inside or outside Greece, while for educational purposes, faithful copies of the museum itself and other scientific spaces are exposed to the museum itself.

Access to the original skull remains limited and is only permitted to selected scientists, following strictly safety protocols, as set out by the Museum’s Scientific Committee.

Scientific investigation and dating

Responding to the widespread online interpretations, the Commission stresses that the first scientific study of the skull was done by the Professors Kokko and Kaneli (1960) of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, subsequent work followed by a stable scientific continuation-including Bostancı (1964), Marinou-Gianni (1964) (1967) and many others. The newer views or disputes do not negate this scientific priority.

The prevailing scientific view of the last 20 years is sorting the skull in kind Homo Heidelbergensis Sensu Lato (Man of Heidelberg, in a broad sense), while biometric and morphological analysis places his relative age in no more than ~ 350,000 years. Older, greater estimates (up to 700,000 years) have been documented in international literature.

Attempt absolute dating They began in the 1970s and continued until the mid -1990s. Due to the unclear initial conditions of finding and location of the skull, researchers dated: (a) cave stalagmite, (b) crust that overwhelmed the skull; (c) the bone itself. The most reliable published results place his age between 150,000 and 250,000 years old.

Newer scientific developments and reservations

In 2025, study of Falguères et al.published in Journal of Human Evolution (Issue 206), used the uranium-dixture method for 13 samples of stalagmite material from various parts of the cave and a sample of alleged crust surrounding the skull. The Museum’s committee, however, points out that it cannot confirm the origin of this sample due to lack of relevant files and therefore expresses reservations about its credibility.

Distances from non -documented correlations

The correlation of possible stone artifacts or traces of combustion in the cave with “Petralonian man” (LGPUT PEC-1) has not been documented as sufficient in international literature. The same applies to any connection of osteological residues of animals to the activity of this human sample.

It is emphasized that the skull of the “man of Petralona” and corresponding prehistoric finds of Greece and Europe are not related to the origin or history of ancient or modern peoples and nations of the Balkans or any other geographical unit – each such link is characterized by the Commission as anti -scientific.

“The Museum of Geology-Palentology-Paltropology (GE-PA-PAL) is a public recognized scientific body (University Museum, Government Gazette 228/B/4-2-2019) with the primary purpose of collecting, maintaining, preserving and promoting geological, geological and geological, Research and excavation of members of the Department of Geology and the Department of Geology of the AUTH in general, as well as the diffusion and communication of relevant scientific knowledge/information. The extremely incomplete and unclear national legal framework governing the paleontological findings and in general, geocarbonity should not be used in the face as a springboard for non -existent claims and unsubstantiated statements »concludes the AUTH announcement.