8,500-year-old sailors: hunters and gatherers conquer Malta!

8,500-year-old sailors: hunters and gatherers conquer Malta!

Scientists have now discovered that hunter-gatherers settled in Malta around 8,500 years ago, around 1,000 years earlier than previously thought. These people crossed open waters of at least 100 kilometers to reach the island. The results, which appear in the renowned specialist journal Nature were published, document the oldest long-distance sea voyage in the Mediterranean, which took place before the invention of sailboats. The investigation is based on finds in the Latnija cave in the northern Mellieha region.

Here researchers discovered a wide variety of remains, including stone tools, fireplaces and leftover food such as deer. Remains of marine animals such as seals, fish, sea snails, crabs and sea urchins also testify to a diverse diet of the people of that time. Professor Dr. Nicholas Vella, one of the scientists involved, explains that a crossing of 100 kilometers at a speed of about four kilometers per hour is a realistic assumption, even though the conditions on the open sea were challenging.

The challenges of seafaring

Before the new discovery, it was widely believed that pre-agricultural people were unable to reach remote islands like Malta. The results now published not only question this belief, but also call for a re-evaluation of the seafaring skills of hunter-gatherers. The study was led by Professor Dr. Eleanor Scerri from the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology and the University of Malta and received support from the Malta Cultural Heritage Authority and funding from the European Research Council.

The shortest distance between Sicily and Malta is just 85 kilometers, but according to the researchers, the hunter-gatherers traveled an estimated 100 kilometers. They also had to pay attention to surface currents and winds during their sea voyages. Navigation was most likely done using landmarks and techniques based on the starry sky. The use of simply constructed dugouts, made from a single tree trunk, or rafts made of reeds and animal skins is considered plausible.

A look into Maltese prehistory

The finds extend Malta's prehistory by 1,000 years and document the longest known sea crossing by hunter-gatherers in the Mediterranean. The settlement of Malta began around 8,500 years ago and ended with the arrival of the first farmers between 7,400 and 7,100 years ago. Despite the wealth of new information, the question of what motivated people to undertake these long sea voyages remains unanswered. Possible causes could have been a lack of resources or social factors.

The basis of these exciting discoveries supports the assumption that people were already aware of the conditions in Malta before the actual trip. This raises interesting questions about the skills and knowledge of hunter-gatherers, which are fundamental to understanding human history. The research is seen by many as a significant step in the reconstruction of Malta's past ways of life.