Hunter-gatherers made long distance-crossings of Mediterranean in boats
Hunter-gatherers were making long-distance voyages across the Mediterranean 8,500 years ago, suggesting they were more technologically advanced than previously thought.
Evidence of human activity has been found in caves in Malta, which date back to the European Mesolithic, proving that communities must have travelled from the mainland – a distance of at least 60 miles of open water.
Sailing had not yet been invented, so it is likely they made the arduous journey paddling in dugout canoes and may have navigated by the stars.
The remains date from a thousand years before the arrival of the first farmers.
'The fact that we find hunter-gatherers on Malta at this time implies a sea crossing from Sicily in a dugout canoe,' said Prof Nicholas Vella of the University of Malta, co-investigator of the study.
'All of this predisposes knowledge by the seafarers of navigation at night, using the stars, using sea marks and of course the ability to make up for the strong sea currents that exist in this part of the Mediterranean.
'Relying on sea surface currents and prevailing winds, a crossing of about 100km is likely, with a speed of about 4km per hour.
'Even on the longest day of the year, these seafarers would have had over several hours of darkness in open water.'
Malta is one of the most remote islands in the Mediterranean, lying around 62 miles off the coast of Sicily, to which it had previously been connected by a hypothesised land bridge that was submerged around 13,000 years ago.
It had been assumed that Malta was too small and remote to support human populations before the dawn of farming, which also brought the development of more advanced seafaring technologies.
Previously identified remains in Malta have pointed to Neolithic farmers being the first to reach the isle around 7,400 years ago.
But researchers found evidence of stone tools, hearths, and cooked food waste at the cave site of Latnija in the northern Mellieħa region of Malta.
'The results add a thousand years to Maltese prehistory and force a re-evaluation of the seafaring abilities of Europe's last hunter-gatherers, as well as their connections and ecosystem impacts,' said Prof Eleanor Scerri of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (MPI-GEA) and the University of Malta.
'It leads us to ask what other connections might have existed across the Mesolithic world and the Mediterranean.'
The remains of deer, birds, tortoises, and foxes were discovered, suggesting the cave dwellers were still hunting their food, as well as eating seals, fish, urchins, and crabs.
Some of the animal bones found had been thought to already be extinct, suggesting that Mesolithic hunters could have been responsible for some animals dying out on Malta.
The experts said archaeologists may need to rethink the technological capabilities of hunter-gatherers in the region.
The research was published in the journal Nature.
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