Neolithic boats excavated in the Mediterranean reveal advanced nautical technology

Greater than 7,000 years in the past, folks navigated the Mediterranean Sea utilizing technologically refined boats, in keeping with a examine printed March 20, 2024, within the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Juan F. Gibaja of the Spanish Nationwide Analysis Council, Barcelona and colleagues.

A lot of an important civilizations in Europe originated on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout the Neolithic, communities clearly traveled and traded throughout the water, as evidenced by watercraft within the archaeological record and the presence of settlements on coasts and islands. On this examine, Gibaja and colleagues present new insights into the historical past of seafaring know-how by evaluation of canoes on the Neolithic lakeshore village of La Marmotta, close to Rome, Italy.

Excavation at this website has recovered 5 canoes constructed from hollowed-out timber (dugout canoes) courting between 5700 and 5100 BC. Evaluation of those boats reveals that they’re constructed from 4 various kinds of wooden, uncommon amongst comparable websites, and that they embody superior building methods akin to transverse reinforcements.

One canoe can also be related to three T-shaped picket objects, every with a sequence of holes that have been seemingly used to lock ropes tied to sails or different nautical parts. These options, together with earlier reconstruction experiments, point out these have been seaworthy vessels, a conclusion supported by the presence on the website of stone instruments linked to close by islands.

The authors describe these canoes as distinctive examples of prehistoric boats whose building required an in depth understanding of structural design and wooden properties along with well-organized specialised labor.

Similarities between these canoes and more moderen nautical applied sciences assist the concept that many main advances in crusing have been made throughout the early Neolithic. The authors counsel there could also be extra boats preserved close to La Marmotta, a possible avenue for future analysis.

The authors add, “Direct courting of Neolithic canoes from La Marmotta reveals them to be the oldest within the Mediterranean, providing invaluable insights into Neolithic navigation. This examine reveals the wonderful technological sophistication of early agricultural and pastoral communities, highlighting their woodworking abilities and the development of complicated vessels.”