Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Discovery that Revealed Ancient Humans Navigated the Seas 130,000 Years Ago [2013]
Ancient Origins ^ | 25 October 2013 | John Black

Posted on 07/15/2016 10:47:46 AM PDT by Fractal Trader

It was a few years ago that a Greek-American archaeological team made a startling discovery – they found the oldest indications of seafaring and navigation in the world, in an area called Plakia on Crete Island in Greece. It is an incredibly important discovery that is given little attention, despite the fact that it reached the top ten discoveries of 2010. Their research is forcing scholars to rethink the maritime capabilities of early human and pre-human cultures.

The team of archaeologists were carrying out excavations in a gorge on the island of Crete when they discovered a Palaeolithic site in the canyon of Preveli, where more than 30 hand axes and hundreds of other stone tools, such as cleavers and scrapers, made from quartz were found scattered across more than 20 different locations. Until this discovery, it was believed that ancient humans reached Crete, Cyprus, a few other Greek islands, and possibly Sardinia, no earlier than 12,000 years ago. However, remarkably, the stone tools found at Parkia were dated to at least 130,000 years old.

The tools were dated through stratigraphic analysis, a branch of geology which studies rock layers. The cliffs and caves above the shore were uplifted in the ancient past by tectonic forces. The exposed uplifted layers represent the sequence of geologic periods that have been well studied and dated. The team analyzed the layer bearing the tools and determined that the soil had been on the surface 130,000 to 190,000 years ago.

Rocky bluffs around the village of Plakia were actually the shoreline zone in prehistoric times. This is where the team began excavations. Image source . Considering Crete has been an island for five million years, the tools could have only arrived in that location if ancient humans or pre-human species travelled there by boat.

(Excerpt) Read more at ancient-origins.net ...


TOPICS: Chit/Chat; History; Weird Stuff
KEYWORDS: ancientnavigation; crete; godsgravesglyphs; greece; navigation; neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals; palaeolithic; plakia
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-50 next last

1 posted on 07/15/2016 10:47:46 AM PDT by Fractal Trader
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Believe it or not?


2 posted on 07/15/2016 10:48:14 AM PDT by Fractal Trader
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

Such rubbish.

Maybe it was 25000 years ago or a million years ago....anything but reality.


3 posted on 07/15/2016 10:54:45 AM PDT by panzerkamphwageneinz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

All this stuff giving us modest sea navigation, symbols on cave paintings likely pre-writing, language, symbolic thought, complex language ... the only thing then required for civilization was the beginnings of agriculture AND right climate period for it to take off.


4 posted on 07/15/2016 10:54:51 AM PDT by tbw2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

The seas were smaller and saltier during the ice age.


5 posted on 07/15/2016 10:55:06 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

And if you believe that, they’ll tell you another one.

News flash this morning earlier on FR: Britain has closed their office on man made global warming. One more farce finally gets what it deserves; chucked into File 13.


6 posted on 07/15/2016 10:57:34 AM PDT by Tucker39 (Welcome to America! Now speak English; and keep to the right....In driving, in Faith, and politics.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

Humans, the species with amnesia - Graham Hancock.


7 posted on 07/15/2016 11:01:04 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

ping


8 posted on 07/15/2016 11:02:21 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now it is your turn ...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

Yea, they had GPS.


9 posted on 07/15/2016 11:07:46 AM PDT by Phlap (REDNECK@LIBARTS.EDU)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: panzerkamphwageneinz

Such rubbish.


I agree 100,000%


10 posted on 07/15/2016 11:08:29 AM PDT by laplata ( Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

Before the last glaciation. Not surprising.


11 posted on 07/15/2016 11:10:40 AM PDT by <1/1,000,000th%
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

It sounds logical to me-even ants have sense enough to hang onto something that acts as a raft to get across water-I’m guessing early humans did, too...


12 posted on 07/15/2016 11:10:42 AM PDT by Texan5 ("You've got to saddle up your boys, you've got to draw a hard line"...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

The Morons today think Ancient Humans were Morons


13 posted on 07/15/2016 11:11:52 AM PDT by butlerweave
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: butlerweave

I suspect that were the ancients too moronic, today’s morons would not have made it.


14 posted on 07/15/2016 11:19:19 AM PDT by onedoug
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: panzerkamphwageneinz

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.
(Ecclesiastes 1:9)


15 posted on 07/15/2016 11:35:37 AM PDT by Flick Lives (TRIGGER WARNING - Posts may require application of sarcasm filter)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: BenLurkin
"The seas were smaller and saltier during the ice age."

That's right. I believe that the Med nearly dried up during the Ice Age and many of these islands now were not islands then.

The Med has completely dried up at least 40 times but the last time it did so was 5 million years ago. There is a layer of salt on the bottom that is two miles thick made of salt of a type that only occurs during exposure to full sunlight.

16 posted on 07/15/2016 11:55:57 AM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

But but... the world is only a little over 6000 years old! /s


17 posted on 07/15/2016 12:08:11 PM PDT by NRx (A man of integrity passes his father's civilization to his son, without selling it off to strangers.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

With the exception of what has gone in orbit and other space junk, Voyager included, everything that was here, is here.


18 posted on 07/15/2016 12:08:45 PM PDT by Phlap (REDNECK@LIBARTS.EDU)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: butlerweave
The Morons today think Ancient Humans were Morons

...as they walk around with their mouths agape, staring down at their "smart" phones (chasing make-believe monsters).

Just read the Federalist Papers to see how much smarter humans were, just a couple hundred years ago.

19 posted on 07/15/2016 12:49:09 PM PDT by Disambiguator
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: Fractal Trader

Plato was right.


20 posted on 07/15/2016 12:53:05 PM PDT by sportutegrl
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-4041-50 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson