Ayvalık: Forgotten Gateway Linking Anatolia and Europe in the Ice Age

A new archaeological study has placed the coastal town of Ayvalık, Türkiye, at the center of a story far older than its olive groves or islands suggest. Published in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, the research reveals that early humans may have reached Europe not only through the Balkans or the Levant, but also via a now-submerged land corridor crossing the northeastern Aegean.

From Islands to a Continent-Spanning Corridor

During the Pleistocene, sea levels dropped more than 100 meters, turning Ayvalık’s archipelago into a broad plain that bridged Anatolia and mainland Europe. Archaeologists argue that this “lost land bridge” was more than a route—it was a lived-in landscape, with evidence of habitation and tool-making stretching back hundreds of thousands of years.

138 Tools That Tell a Bigger Story

The survey, led by Dr. Göknur Karahan of Hacettepe University, recorded 138 lithic artifacts across ten sites within a 200 km² area. Among the finds were large handaxes, cleavers, and Levallois-style flakes, the latter associated with Neanderthals as well as early Homo sapiens.

“These are not random stones,” said Dr. Karahan. “They show Ayvalık’s integration into global Paleolithic traditions. What we see here is a technological bridge as much as a geographical one.”

Local Resources and Long-Term Settlement

The discovery of nearby flint and chalcedony deposits suggests that humans did not merely pass through Ayvalık, but actively exploited its raw materials for tool-making. This positions the region as both a migration corridor and a technological hub in the eastern Aegean.

Women at the Helm of Discovery

The project also reflects a generational shift in archaeology. The field survey was carried out by a team of women archaeologists from Türkiye, including co-authors Prof. Kadriye Özçelik of Ankara University and Dr. Hande Bulut of Düzce University.

Bulut emphasized the broader significance:
“Ayvalık was not just a passageway; it functioned as a Paleolithic habitat. Understanding this opens up new debates on Aegean connectivity and technological evolution.”

A Two-Week Survey, a Paradigm Shift

Conducted over just two weeks in June 2022, the research has already challenged long-standing assumptions about Europe’s first populations. Instead of a single migratory highway, the findings highlight a mosaic of possible routes—Ayvalık among them—that shaped the human journey into Europe.

Rethinking the Map of Human Migration

For decades, the Balkans and the Levant have dominated migration models. The evidence from Ayvalık compels scholars to expand that map, recognizing Anatolia’s western coast as a critical node in the prehistoric network.

As Dr. Karahan put it:
“Each tool we hold in our hands is a trace of movement, resilience, and innovation. By uncovering them in Ayvalık, we are not only rewriting migration history—we are rediscovering Anatolia’s role as a bridge between worlds.”

Bulut, H., Karahan, G., & Özçelik, K. (2025). Discovering the Paleolithic Ayvalık: A Strategic Crossroads in Early Human Dispersals Between Anatolia and Europe. Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2025.2542777