All three stages of the stone age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic) are represented in Greece, for example in the Franchthi Cave in Peloponnesus, one of the very few settlements in the world that shows continuous human occupation for more than twenty thousand years.

It also contains some of the earliest evidence for agriculture in Greece.

The first inhabitants were probably hunter gatherers, but from around 11,000 BCE almonds, pistachios, bitter vetch, and lentils all appear at the same time, while wild oats and wild barley appear from 10,500 BCE; from 7,300 BCE, peas and wild pears also appear.

None appear to be native to the region, while two are certainly from Asia Minor.

This would seem to indicate that the farming of legumes and nuts preceded that of grain in Greece, if not in Asia Minor at least.

This would make this area the oldest known agricultural site in Greece.

Obsidian items from the cave have been traced to the island of Melos eighty miles away by sea, which indicates long-distance sea travel.