Viggen Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Archaeologists have discovered what they believe is the earliest evidence yet of long distance seafaring in the eastern Mediterranean, undermining beliefs that ancient mariners never ventured into open seas. Fragments of stone implements believed to be up to 12,000 years old have been found at two sites of Cyprus, suggesting roving mariners used the areas as temporary camp sites after forays from what is today Syria and Turkey. full article at Times Online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 Excellent! It still perplexes me that orthodox belief has such a hard time grasping sea travel spanning the Ice & Stone ages... How else did the Gauches get to the Canaries from Iberia? I think the key to how plausible it really is resides in the Ancient Irish (who are direct descendants of Neolithic hunter-gatherers) legacy technology of the Currach & Coracles. They are strong, durable, can carry heavy burden, are easily transportable on land by even a pair of individuals, and can be made with everything available to pre-historic man (materials & toolkit). Given the state of the late Pleistocene & early Holocene 'forests', currach/coracles make more sense than even hollowed out canoes. Just because the nature of the materials they are made from are not conducive to leaving archaeological trace doesn't mean that they weren't employed by pre-historic man... As to the general notion of what men employed first in the Mediterranean; Pot rafts my arse. That's a landlubber's notion... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pertinax Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 I would like to suggest that "modern" people seem to imagine that ancient populations stayed in one place grubbing for roots, just because technology has developed to reduce the world by speed of travel doesnt mean that the adventurousness of individuals has either increased or decreased. A lot fewer people spread over wider areas with bio degradable technology just dont leave too many clues.If you discuss scandinavian/byzantine trade routes it still seems to surprise people that such a trade path existed . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted November 23, 2005 Report Share Posted November 23, 2005 If you discuss scandinavian/byzantine trade routes it still seems to surprise people that such a trade path existed . As does does the archaeological evidence that points to an extensive Atlantic Coast (seaborne) trade system from the south of Iberia all the way to Britain & Ireland spanning from at least as early as the Bell-Beaker days... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callaecus Posted December 22, 2006 Report Share Posted December 22, 2006 How else did the Gauches get to the Canaries from Iberia? The neighbouring African coast is a more likeley candidate... I think the key to how plausible it really is resides in the Ancient Irish (who are direct descendants of Neolithic hunter-gatherers) legacy technology of the Currach & Coracles. Hmm. I doubt that. Taking in consideration the form of Mediterranean ships in the Antiquity, the canoe is a more likely candidate for the boats used in that area during the prehistory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pantagathus Posted December 26, 2006 Report Share Posted December 26, 2006 I think the key to how plausible it really is resides in the Ancient Irish (who are direct descendants of Neolithic hunter-gatherers) legacy technology of the Currach & Coracles. Hmm. I doubt that. Taking in consideration the form of Mediterranean ships in the Antiquity, the canoe is a more likely candidate for the boats used in that area during the prehistory. But on a large scale dugout canoes are cumbersome and take a lot of energy to create (especially without metal tools) whereas the evidence of water craft made of wood/reeds and hide by primitive people is quite numerous; whether it be a 'pot raft' (platform of wood on top of inflated skins) or something akin to a coracle which was known to have been used by the Mesopotamians. Consider this curious but telling anecdote by Pliny (7.57): "Before his time, they used to sail on rafts, which had been invented by King Erythras, to pass from one island to another in the Red Sea. There are some writers to be found, who are of opinion that they were first thought of by the Mysians and the Trojans, for the purpose of crossing the Hellespont into Thrace. Even at the present day, they are made in the British ocean, of wicker-work covered with hides" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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