Stone Age settlers were seafarers, new evidence suggests
Sailors during the Stone Age may have used catamarans to cross the Mediterranean 7000 years ago, archaeologists believe, after discovering the first evidence of seafaring in Europe.
Five large carved wooden canoes hollowed out from the trunks of trees were excavated from a Neolithic period village called La Marmotta, near Rome. The site is a submerged village under Lake Bracciano, not far from the Mediterranean Sea, leaving experts to suspect the canoes were used for long-distance excursions.
Although boats have been uncovered in the Netherlands, France and Germany, dating as early as 10,000 years ago, they were thought to have been used to navigate local waterways and lakes.
The new boats were up to 11m long, and showed evidence of “T-shaped” holed objects that may have been used to fasten ropes to sails, suggesting that sailors were venturing further afield in the craft.
Experts suspect that the boats may even have been joined together to create a double hull in the form of a catamaran, which may have provided greater safety, stability and capacity for the transport of people, animals and goods.
Archaeologists from the Spanish National Research Council, in Barcelona, said the dugouts, coupled with the occupation of nearby islands, was “irrefutable proof” that Neolithic societies could travel across seas. Their research was published in the journal Plos One.
Tests have shown that it is possible to cover around 30 nautical miles (55km) a day in similar boats, even with inexperienced sailors, suggesting that Neolithic communities could have covered long distances in a short time.
At La Marmotta, archaeologists also found evidence that obsidian, from the nearby islands of Lipari and Palmarola, was being used for tool-making, suggesting the stone was being imported from over the water.
Experts said the five canoes represented knowledge, experience and practical skills accumulated over centuries, and might help to explain how agriculture spread throughout the Mediterranean and into Northern Europe so quickly.
– Telegraph Group