The Mani peninsula of the southern Greek mainland is known for its quenched, rugged, rocky terrain. Separated from the rest of the Greek mainland by the towering Taigetos mountain range, the Mani is its own place; unlike the rest of mainland Greece but also not like the islands. The Mani boasts some of the earliest evidence of human occupation in Europe, dating back several hundred thousand years, and in historical times the region was notorious for remaining staunchly independent of colonial domination. Despite its amazing potential to shed light on the past, the archaeology of the region has remained vastly under-studied. In this presentation, Bill Parkinson discusses the results of his team’s collaborative work at Alepotrypa Cave, a massive cave complex that was used as a burial ground for thousands of years by early agricultural villagers. He also will discuss a new project he is co-directing with his colleagues, Chelsea Gardner and Becky Seifried, which focuses on southern Mani.