viernes, 16 de noviembre de 2012

Neanderthals may have also been sailors

Neanderthals and other extinct human lineages might have been ancient mariners, venturing to the Mediterranean islands thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

This prehistoric seafaring could shed light on the mental capabilities of these lost relatives of modern humans, researchers say.

Scientists had thought the Mediterranean islands were first settled about 9,000 years ago by Neolithic or New Stone Age farmers and shepherds.

"On a lot of Mediterranean islands, you have these amazing remains from classical antiquity to study, so for many years people didn't even look for older sites," said archaeologist Alan Simmons at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas.

However, in the last 20 years or so, some evidence has surfaced for a human presence on these islands dating back immediately before the Neolithic.

"There's still a lot to find in archaeology — you have to keep pushing the envelope in terms of conventional wisdom," Simmons said. [...] MSNBC

Link 2: Neanderthals May Have Sailed to Crete

Reference:
Mediterranean Island Voyages
Alan Simmons
Science 16 November 2012: 338 (6109), 895-897. [DOI:10.1126/science.1228880]

Actualización 19-11-12. ¿Sabían los neandertales navegar por el Mediterráneo?
(Traducción del artículo en inglés).

1 comentario:

salaman.es dijo...

Actualización. ¿Sabían los neandertales navegar por el Mediterráneo?