Architectural and anthropological remains which date to the Mesolithic period (10,000-8000 BP) were traced at the site Maroulas on the island of Kythnos.

The archaeological site of Maroulas, estimated to be about 2000 square metres, is situated beside the sea which has evidently eroded a part of the Mesolithic settlement. The excavations, admittedly not very extensive, brought to light intact human skeletons at a depth of just a few inches below the earth surface. These are among the first known burials in an open site in the Aegean, along with the those found previously in some caves of Attica, at Franchthi in Hermionid, at Theopetra in Kalambaka and Yioura near Alonnissos.

Beside the burials the first relics of Mesolithic houses in Greece were found belonging to a paved floor which was probably part of a type of "house".
The presence of architectural remains and burials on the same site suggests that a community of hunter-gatherers settled here for a long time in order to practise also fishing and shell-collecting.
Although the study of other finds from the excavation, lithic and stone artefacts as well as bones, has yet to be completed, the remains unearthed at Maroulas are particularly important since the study of the Mesolithic Period in Greece has been based on finds which so far have come from a limited number of sites.

The discovery of other sites apart from the one on Kythnos, on Alonnissos and the Cyclops Cave at Yioura, combined with the established use of obsidian at Franchthi Cave in Hermionid, have provided concrete evidence that the Aegean islands (Cyclades and Sporades) had already been explored at certain times of the year and inhabited by the early phase of the Holocene.