A new study led by researchers from the University of South Florida has changed the way we understand the history of human settlement in the western Mediterranean.
This research suggests that humans settled in this region much earlier than was previously believed, pushing back the timeline for when the Spanish island of Mallorca was first inhabited.
These findings challenge long-standing assumptions and help fill in the gaps regarding when humans arrived on Mediterranean islands.
Reconstructing the early history of human colonization on Mediterranean islands has always been difficult due to the lack of clear archaeological evidence.
However, a breakthrough came when a team led by Professor Bogdan Onac from the University of South Florida studied a 25-foot-long submerged bridge near Genovesa Cave on Mallorca. This bridge, now underwater, provided important clues about earlier human activity in the region.
The presence of this bridge, along with other artifacts found in the cave, indicates that early settlers were more advanced than we might have thought.
According to Professor Onac, the discovery of the bridge suggests that these early humans were capable of building infrastructure that helped them access resources, like fresh water, from the cave. This implies that they were aware of their environment and built structures to adapt to it.
The cave itself, located near the coast of Mallorca, has been partially flooded due to rising sea levels over thousands of years. The researchers noticed specific mineral formations, like calcite, that had formed in the cave during different periods of sea-level rise.
These formations, along with a light-colored band on the submerged bridge, allowed the scientists to track historical changes in sea level. By doing so, they were able to date the construction of the bridge.
Mallorca is the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean, but it was believed to be one of the last islands to be colonized by humans. Previous studies suggested that humans had been present on the island for around 9,000 years, but the evidence was often unreliable.
Bones and pottery that were previously dated using radiocarbon techniques were poorly preserved, leading researchers to doubt the accuracy of these estimates. More recent studies, using materials like charcoal and ash, pointed to a human presence around 4,400 years ago.
This new timeline aligned with major environmental changes on the island, such as the extinction of a unique species of goat-antelope known as Myotragus balearicus.
However, the new study has provided even earlier dates for human settlement. By analyzing the mineral deposits on the submerged bridge and measuring the elevation of a coloration band on the bridge, the researchers determined that the bridge was built about 6,000 years ago.
This new date is more than 2,000 years older than previous estimates, meaning that humans settled in Mallorca much earlier than previously thought.
This discovery also narrows the time gap between when humans first settled on islands in the eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean.
Professor Onac emphasized the importance of working together across different fields of study to make discoveries like this one possible.
The research involved not only archaeology but also geology and climate science, highlighting how different disciplines can come together to uncover important details about human history.
The study was supported by several grants from the National Science Foundation and involved a great deal of fieldwork, including underwater exploration. The team also used precise dating techniques to determine the age of the mineral formations.
Looking ahead, Professor Onac and his team plan to continue exploring cave systems in the Mediterranean.
Some of these caves have mineral deposits that formed millions of years ago, and the researchers hope to use these deposits to learn more about sea levels before modern times and how they have been affected by climate change.
In summary, this new research offers valuable insight into the early human settlement of the western Mediterranean.
By revealing that humans arrived in Mallorca much earlier than previously thought, the study reshapes our understanding of how humans spread across the Mediterranean region.
It also highlights the critical role that interdisciplinary research plays in uncovering the mysteries of our past.
The research findings can be found in Communications Earth & Environment.
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