More than 7,000 years ago, Neolithic people navigated the Mediterranean Sea using technologically sophisticated boats, according to new research.
Many of the most important civilizations in Europe originated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans and Carthaginians plied that practically enclosed sea to move rapidly along its coasts and between its islands.
In different historical times, the Mediterranean was a space in which to travel and a means of communication.
However, one of the main migratory phenomena in history took place in the Neolithic, when farming communities began to spread around Europe and North Africa.
Although the beginnings of the Neolithic are documented in the Near East in about 10,000 BCE, communities from that region gradually occupied the whole Mediterranean around 7500-7000 BCE and reached the coasts of Portugal in about 5400 BCE.
In a new study, Dr. Juan Gibaja from the Spanish National Research Council and his colleagues examined five dugout canoes — built from hollowed-out trees between 5700 and 5100 BCE — from the Neolithic lakeshore village of La Marmotta, near Rome, Italy.
The analysis reveals that the canoes are built from four different types of wood, unusual among similar sites, and that they include advanced construction techniques such as transverse reinforcements.
One canoe is also associated with three T-shaped wooden objects, each with a series of holes that were likely used to fasten ropes tied to sails or other nautical elements.
These features, along with previous reconstruction experiments, indicate these were seaworthy vessels, a conclusion supported by the presence at the site of stone tools linked to nearby islands.
“These canoes are exceptional examples of prehistoric boats whose construction required a detailed understanding of structural design and wood properties in addition to well-organized specialized labor,” the researchers said.
“Similarities between these canoes…
Read the full article here