Hunters and gatherers were already sailing (without sails) in the Mediterranean more than 8,500 years ago.
Research published in Nature shows that Malta was already inhabited before the arrival of agriculture.
BarcelonaUntil recently, it was thought that the remote islands of the Mediterranean had been uninhabited until the arrival of the first farmers and ranchers. Research published in the journal Nature The study, led by Eleanor Scerri, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (Germany) and the University of Malta, with the participation of Ethel Allué and Aitor Burguet-Coca from IPHES-BÚSQUEDA and the Rovira i Virgili University (URV), documents a voyage for the first time. According to the study's authors, this voyage was carried out using "dug-out canoes without sails." The navigators oriented themselves using the stars, ocean currents, and coastal landmarks.
"We've found a lot of evidence of the island's occupation 8,500 years ago. Sicily is 100 kilometers from Malta, while the North African coast is 300 kilometers away. This is due to the sea level, the distance, and the fact that chronologically, at that time, the Italian coasts of Sicily were inhabited," says Burguet-Coca.
During the excavations, stone tools, hearths, food remains, and remains of many animal species that had been consumed were found. Among these species were the red deer, which until now was thought to have become extinct in Malta at that time, as well as turtles, large birds that no longer exist, seals, and fish. Thousands of remains of marine mollusks such as snails, urchins, and crabs were also found, many of which had been cooked.
The place of origin was Sicily
The discovery, according to the researchers, forces us to rethink both the navigational capabilities of prehistoric communities and the networks they built. "The results extend Malta's prehistory by a thousand years and force us to reevaluate the navigational skills of these communities, as well as their environmental connections and impacts," says Scerri.
For the researchers, a key element has been the hearths. "Without fire, in many archaeological contexts we cannot detect human activity, especially at those sites where structures are scarce or nonexistent," explains Allué. "Fire tells us about how they lived, how they organized themselves, and how they adapted to the landscape." The analysis of the hearths has allowed them to identify burnt sediments, ash accumulations, and other evidence of repeated use of fire in the same space. "Luckily, the fire record was very well preserved, which allowed us to go beyond its simple detection and reconstruct human practices such as cooking or the use of fire for lighting and socializing," Burguet-Coca points out.
The plant species most commonly used as fuel was the mastic (Pistacia lentiscus), chosen for its good fuel properties, despite the presence of other species in the area. This choice suggests a deep knowledge of plant resources and local ecology. The presence of palmetto (Chamaerops humilios), a plant that could have had complementary uses such as construction, basketry or as auxiliary fuel.
