There is little doubt that many ancient civilizations had good navigational and sailing skills given the long history of the sea. Ancient civilizations built several maritime routes and traded goods like spices, gold, silk, and many other commodities after realizing the benefits of trade. There is archeological proof that magnificent antique ships traveled across the oceans and that intrepid explorers touched foot on uncharted territory.
Scientists have found evidence the Neanderthals were the first seafarers. Credit: Adobe Stock - Rawf8
However, the boat was not created by modern humans. A study claims that the Neanderthals, who lived between 400,000 and 40,000 years ago, were the first sailors. Scientists have looked at a number of artifacts and stone tools that can only be found on islands in the Mediterranean Sea.
"Although Middle Palaeolithic artifacts from the southern Ionian Islands indicate that humans have lived there since 110 ka BP, bathymetry, sea level variations, and Late Quaternary geology indicate that Kefallinia and Zakynthos were insular at the time. As a result, the presence of people on these islands suggests inter-island maritime activity. The Neanderthals were the first mariners, and it is likely that they began their voyages between 110 and 35 ka BP. According to the "voyaging nurseries" and "autocatalysis" notions, the coastline configuration provided the ideal conditions for the development of seafaring abilities, which fostered sailing, the research team says in a report published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
On the islands of Zakynthos, Lefkada, and Kefalonia, which are between five and twelve kilometers from the Greek mainland, archaeologists discovered Mousterian tools. It took the Mousterian tool technology, which is more frequently linked to the Neandertals, between 300,000 and 27,000 years to develop. Hand axes, choppers, scrapers, backed knives, denticulates, and points were all common items in Mousterian toolkits.
How did these Neanderthal tools get to the islands of Greece? According to Paul Pettitt from the University of Sheffield, our long-dead ancestors might have been able to swim that far. Although it is conceivable, it does not explain why similar tools were found on the island of Crete. This seems incredibly unlikely, especially considering that such swimmers would not have known in advance that Crete was there to discover, as swimming forty kilometers would have required.
Did Neanderthals explore the oceans 50,000 years before modern humans? Credit: Adobe Stock - Matyas Rehak
The study's lead author, George Ferentinos, and his team contend that these prehistoric artefacts provide proof that Neanderthals developed the ability to construct and sail ships before modern humans did. The discovered stone tools, according to scientists, date back roughly 100,000 years. This would indicate that 100,000 years ago, or 50,000 years before modern humans began engaging in nautical activities, Neanderthals were cruising the Mediterranean!
Some researchers claim that humans have been sailing for up to a million years! This hypothesis is supported by the discovery of stone tools from that long ago on the Indonesian island of Flores.
Unfortunately, archaeologists are unable to provide additional evidence because any boats used by Neanderthals would have been made of wood, which would have long since decomposed to nothing.
