Humans Arrived in Malta Earlier Than Expected

LATNIJA, MALTA—According to a statement released by the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology, researchers have found evidence that hunter-gatherers from mainland Europe traveled to Malta around 1,000 years earlier than previously believed. Archaeologists recovered stone tools, hearths, and food waste at a cave site in Latnija that indicated humans have been living on the island for 8,500 years. This means that they arrived there even before the widespread adoption of agriculture, which contradicts long-held assumptions. Experts theorize that they made the journey in simple dugout canoes, making this new discovery the oldest evidence of long-distance seafaring in the Mediterranean prior to the invention of boats with sails. The voyagers would have relied on surface currents to cross about 60 miles of open sea. At a top speed of 2.5 miles an hour, this would have forced the intrepid seafarers to endure several hours of darkness on their journey. “The results add a thousand years to Maltese prehistory and force a re-evaluation of the seafaring abilities of Europe’s last hunter-gatherers, as well as their connections and ecosystem impacts,” said Max Planck archaeological scientist Eleanor Scerri. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Nature. To read about a Babylonian cuneiform inscription found on Malta, go to "Written on Agate."