Date:

Neolithic people navigated the Mediterranean Sea using sophisticated boats

A study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, proposes that Neolithic communities living along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea utilised technologically sophisticated boats for travel and trade 7,000 years ago.

Archaeologists from the Spanish National Research Council, Barcelona, have conducted a study of canoes found at the Neolithic lakeshore village of La Marmotta, located near Rome, Italy.

- Advertisement -

The researchers have identified that five recovered canoes were crafted from hollowed-out trees, utilising four distinct varieties of wood: Pinus sylvestris, Populus tremula, Quercus sp, Alnus sp, and Tilia sp.

According to the study, the canoes date from between 5700-5100 BC and indicate an advanced understanding of 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.

Such features, along with reconstruction experiments, indicate that the canoes were seaworthy vessels, a conclusion supported by the presence of stone tools linked to nearby islands.

- Advertisement -

Similarities between the canoes and more recent nautical technologies support the idea that many major advances in sailing were made during the early Neolithic. The authors suggest there may be more boats preserved near La Marmotta, a potential avenue for future research.

The authors add: “Direct dating of Neolithic canoes from La Marmotta reveals them to be the oldest in the Mediterranean, offering invaluable insights into Neolithic navigation. This study reveals the amazing technological sophistication of early agricultural and pastoral communities, highlighting their woodworking skills and the construction of complex vessels.”

Header Image Credit : Gibaja et al., 2024, PLOS ONE

Sources : PLOS ONE – Gibaja JF, Mineo M, Santos FJ, Morell B, Caruso-Fermé L, Remolins G, et al. (2024) The first Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean: The settlement of La Marmotta (Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio, Italy). PLOS ONE 19(3): e0299765. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0299765

- Advertisement -
spot_img
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan
Mark Milligan is multi-award-winning journalist and the Managing Editor at HeritageDaily. His background is in archaeology and computer science, having written over 7,500 articles across several online publications. Mark is a member of the Association of British Science Writers (ABSW), the World Federation of Science Journalists, and in 2023 was the recipient of the British Citizen Award for Education, the BCA Medal of Honour, and the UK Prime Minister's Points of Light Award.
spot_img

Mobile Application

spot_img

Related Articles

Soldiers’ graffiti depicting hangings found on door at Dover Castle

Conservation of a Georgian door at Dover Castle has revealed etchings depicting hangings and graffiti from time of French Revolution.

Archaeologists find Roman villa with ornate indoor plunge pool

Archaeologists from the National Institute of Cultural Heritage have uncovered a Roman villa with an indoor plunge pool during excavations at the port city of Durrës, Albania.

Archaeologists excavate medieval timber hall

Archaeologists from the University of York have returned to Skipsea in East Yorkshire, England, to excavate the remains of a medieval timber hall.

Archaeologists find traces of Gloucester’s medieval castle

Archaeologists from Cotswold Archaeology have uncovered traces of Gloucester’s medieval castle in Gloucester, England.

Treasure hoard associated with hermit conman found in Świętokrzyskie Mountains

A treasure hoard associated with Antoni Jaczewiczar, a notorious hermit, conman, and false prophet, has been discovered in the Świętokrzyskie Mountains in south-central Poland.

Underwater scans reveal lost submerged landscape

Researchers from the Life on the Edge project, a collaboration between the University of Bradford and the University of Split, has revealed a lost submerged landscape off the coast of Croatia using underwater scans.

Buried L-shaped structure and anomalies detected near Giza Pyramids

A geophysical study by archaeologists from the Higashi Nippon International University, Tohoku University, and the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics (NRIAG), have detected an L-shaped structure and several anomalies near the Giza Pyramids using geophysics.

Archaeologists search for traces of the “birthplace of Texas”

As part of a $51 million project, archaeologists have conducted a search for traces of Washington-on-the-Brazos, also known as the “birthplace of Texas”.