Archaeologists in northern Greece have uncovered traces of two prehistoric farming settlements dating back as early as 6,000 BCE.
     The first site, located on a plot earmarked for coal mining by Greece's Public Power Corporation, yielded five human burials, as well as artifacts including clay figurines of humans and animals, sealstones, pottery and stone tools. The one-acre site near Ptolemaida, some 330 miles northwest of Athens, had been inhabited for a short period during the early Neolithic era, between 6000 and 5500 BCE. Some 25 Neolithic settlements have been discovered in the area.
     A second, smaller site, also dating between 6000-5500 BCE, was excavated near Grevena, some 260 miles northwest of Athens. Archaeologists found a number of rare figurines in the settlement, which contained a workshop for producing stone tools.
     The first traces of human settlement in Greece date to at least 40,000 BCE.

Sources: Associated Press, Boston.com (28 November 2005)