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Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands
Archaeological discoveries from Malta suggest that humans were present on the Maltese islands from around 8,500 years ago, providing evidence that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers made sea crossings as long as 100 km.
Although occasional claims for an earlier Neolithic in both Sicily and Malta have been suggested, they are problematic because of radiocarbon dates and age models with high levels of uncertainty, in addition to being inconsistent with the regional chronology mentioned above (Supplementary Information 1 and Extended Data Figs. The onset of episodes of cave-wall collapse is observed at the top of this ash-rich deposit, marked by a clast-dominant layer closer to the cave wall, grading to finer sediments beyond the dripline, also containing fauna and artefacts (Phase IV; Fig. Caruso Fermé, L., Mineo, M., Remolins, G., Mazzucco, N. & Gibaja, J. F. Navigation during the early Neolithic in the Mediterranean area: study of wooden artifacts associated with dugout canoes at La marmotta (Lago di Bracciano, Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio, Italy).
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