Mesolithic Hunter-Gatherers Pioneered Long-Distance Sea Voyages to Remote Mediterranean Islands
New archaeological evidence from Latnija, Malta, reveals that Mesolithic hunter-gatherers undertook extraordinary open-water voyages to reach some of the most remote islands in the central Mediterranean. Dating from approximately 8,500 to 7,500 years ago, this evidence dramatically revises our understanding of prehistoric maritime capabilities long before the advent of Neolithic sail technologies and complex seafaring.
The Maltese archipelago, which had almost attained its present geographical configuration by this time, lies at a minimum distance of about 85 kilometers across open sea from Sicily. While this straight-line measure presents a formidable challenge today, ancient seafarers would have navigated far more demanding routes influenced by prevailing winds, shifting sea surface currents, and night-time wayfinding using celestial landmarks. Estimates suggest that actual distances traversed could have been closer to 100 kilometers or more, a breathtaking feat for Early Holocene hunter-gatherers reliant on dugout canoes propelled solely by human power.
Such crossings would have been fraught with difficulty. Experimental voyages with Neolithic dugout canoe replicas from La Marmotta, Italy, show sustained speeds around 4 kilometers per hour, implying a sea journey requiring full use of daylight and extended travel into darkness to complete. Moreover, currents in the Malta Channel, predominantly southeasterly during summer months, potentially reaching speeds up to 2 knots, would have significantly prolonged and complicated these outward expeditions. Historical accounts underline that ancient sail-powered vessels often opted to embark from ports on Sicily’s Gulf of Gela rather than the shortest Maltese axis, attesting to the strategic maritime adaptations required to negotiate these difficult waters.
This emerging picture shatters long-held assumptions that dire Mediterranean seafaring conditions limited pre-Neolithic maritime range. Instead, the evidence positions these hunter-gatherers as sophisticated navigators capable of calculated, long-distance sea crossings predating known sailing technology by millennia. Such journeys represent some of the longest open-sea voyages in the region’s prehistory, revealing an unappreciated chapter of human innovation and mobility in the Early Holocene epoch.
The motivations behind these daring voyages remain a subject of debate. Climatic amelioration following the last glacial period likely enhanced seasonal resource availability on Malta, which may have incentivized periodic hunter-gatherer movement across the seas. Alternatively, the travel could reflect complex social dynamics, including demographic pressures or evolving interaction spheres catalyzed by the transitioning landscapes of Late Mesolithic Mediterranean societies.
Further, the Maltese Mesolithic story integrates into a broader tapestry of behavioral and demographic shifts characterizing the terminal hunter-gatherer era across the Mediterranean basin. These insights challenge prevailing dichotomies that portray islands as pristine wildernesses before Neolithic colonization. Instead, they reveal ecosystems shaped by human agency, replete with cultural and ecological footprints extending back centuries prior to agriculture’s arrival.
Of particular note is the potential for these early maritime connections to bridge continents, hinting at interactions between contemporaneous Mesolithic groups in Europe and the Epipaleolithic cultures of North Africa. Studies have highlighted technological affinities in lithic industries along both shores of the Mediterranean, suggesting a shared adaptive repertoire fostering seafaring ventures. The cluster of islands and indented mainland coastlines in the south-central Mediterranean and eastern Maghreb region emerges as a critical nexus for pioneering maritime activity during this period.
These discoveries compel a reevaluation of the capabilities and strategies employed by the last hunter-gatherers in the Mediterranean. Their ability to consistently undertake and survive substantial sea journeys widens perspectives on prehistoric human adaptability, navigation skills, and social organization. It underscores that the Neolithic transition unfolded within a complex mosaic of human populations embedded in maritime landscapes, rather than a sudden arrival into untouched territories.
Cumulatively, the findings underscore the ingenuity, resilience, and maritime sophistication of Mesolithic societies, whose endeavors laid crucial groundwork for subsequent waves of seafaring innovation including the eventual advent of sailing vessels. More than just physical migration, these voyages symbolize early human engagement with open seas as dynamic arenas of exploration, resource procurement, and cultural exchange.
By bringing to light this remarkable epoch of prehistoric seafaring, archaeologists illuminate uncharted dimensions of human history in the Mediterranean. The extended timelines of maritime connectivity they reveal not only deepen our understanding of hunter-gatherer lifeways but also enrich narratives of human movement, interaction, and adaptation across some of the world’s most challenging marine environments.
As research continues, the story of Mesolithic Malta and its seaborne voyagers promises to refine broader models of maritime prehistory, highlighting how ancient hunter-gatherers shaped, and were shaped by, the insular and marine landscapes at the heart of the Mediterranean. Their journeys compel us to reconsider the ingenuity of early humans who, long before the dawn of agriculture, embraced the sea to connect distant lands and cultures.
Subject of Research: Mesolithic maritime journeys and hunter-gatherer sea crossings in the central Mediterranean
Article Title: Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands
Article References:
Scerri, E.M.L., Blinkhorn, J., Groucutt, H.S. et al. Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands. Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08780-y
Image Credits: AI Generated
