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Earliest Humans Arrived in Sicily 16,500 Years Ago
Archaeology Magazine ^ | May 12, 2025 | editors / unattributed

Posted on 05/20/2025 10:35:19 PM PDT by SunkenCiv

According to the Greek Reporter, archaeologists have discovered the earliest known evidence of human occupation on the island of Sicily in San Teodoro cave near the town of Acquedolci -- finally proving a theory that was first posited over 75 years ago but unable to be confirmed then. Modern dating methods of sediment layers where stone tools, animal bones, and charred wood were found estimated that they were 16,500 years old, revealing that humans inhabited Sicily much earlier than previously thought. Groups of hunter-gatherers likely crossed the sea in small boats from mainland Europe as the last Ice Age was coming to an end. At the time, Sicily would have been a glacial refuge where these groups would have hunted large animals, especially deer that supplied them with meat, hides, and bone to make tools. Stone tools such as scrapers and points, which were made from local flint and quartzite, were also found within the cave. The new study also surprisingly indicated that the island was covered with maple, oak, and beech trees at a time when much of Europe was still buried in ice. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.

(Excerpt) Read more at archaeology.org ...


TOPICS: History; Science; Travel
KEYWORDS: acquedolci; ancientnavigation; dietandcuisine; epigravettian; flintknapping; godsgravesglyphs; huntergatherer; paleolithic; santeodorocave; sicily
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To: Buttons12

A 2 mile open oceans swim is not difficult for someone in shape and a strong swimmer. Amphibious Marine’s routinely swim further in full battle rattle. Been there done that.


21 posted on 05/21/2025 4:36:34 AM PDT by GenXPolymath
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To: SunkenCiv

Leave the Spear point, take the cannoli..................


22 posted on 05/21/2025 5:12:34 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: zeestephen

Exactly. Europe and the Middle East had thriving populations of Neanderthals and sapiens, there is no reason to think it took them way longer to get to the islands. Although they’re saying ‘proof’ it’s still unlikely people weren’t there for the duration...many tens of thousands of years earlier.


23 posted on 05/21/2025 5:18:19 AM PDT by F450-V10 (.)
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To: SunkenCiv

The first pizza delivery guys.


24 posted on 05/21/2025 5:19:18 AM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Where can Americans go to seek justice now that the RATS own the judiciary?)
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Nope. First humans were in the Garden of Eden.


25 posted on 05/21/2025 5:20:53 AM PDT by jimbug
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To: GenXPolymath

The Chinese was looks like a faint track made my an ant in sand.
If you don’t understand how much bigger Sun is than earth, I am afraid you are very low IQ. That is the whole point. Climate change is from cycles of activities from the mighty sun. Not puny human beings.


26 posted on 05/21/2025 5:29:31 AM PDT by Bobbyvotes
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To: FlingWingFlyer

Instead of wood-fired, they had a really long paddle and an open lava tube in Mt Etna.


27 posted on 05/21/2025 7:20:57 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: zeestephen

There is ample evidence that once an arrival theory is accepted, digging deeper is no longer necessary, and anyone that does dig deeper and finds something will have their careers ruined.


28 posted on 05/21/2025 7:46:17 AM PDT by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: Herakles
Mafia shows roots going back 16499 years ago!

Yep, hunters had to give them 10% of the deer meat for protection.

29 posted on 05/21/2025 7:49:45 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: SunkenCiv

Didn’t we just read that there is evidence of neaderthals in Crete? 16,500 years for sicily seems a little late in prehistory by comparison.


30 posted on 05/21/2025 8:44:46 AM PDT by ckilmer
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To: ckilmer

[singing] sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset...


31 posted on 05/21/2025 8:52:03 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: ckilmer

32 posted on 05/21/2025 9:46:12 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: PIF; zeestephen

/bingo


33 posted on 05/21/2025 9:47:53 AM PDT by SunkenCiv (Putin should skip ahead to where he kills himself in the bunker.)
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To: zeestephen

16,500 years ago the ancestors of most modern day Europeans were either in what is now north west Iran or in the Kuban region of Russia Georgia.

Modern Europeans, specifically Sardiniabs and Sicilians are 50% or more Iranian neolithis farmers, then earlier hunter gatherers and finally Indo Europeans.

The same mix in different variations is found from Ireland to Bangladesh.


34 posted on 05/21/2025 10:30:38 AM PDT by Cronos ( )
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To: Bobbyvotes

Humans affect global weather. Not to the extent the doomers say but not insignificant as the doubters say. Our pollution since the late 1700s has triggered an imbalance that has led to the weird weather globally.

Does this mean we regress to the neolithic age? No

But it means we should be conservatives and conserve the environment so future generations can enjoy it as well


35 posted on 05/21/2025 10:43:19 AM PDT by Cronos ( )
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To: Cronos

Hahahahaha you have no records on 99.99% of Earth’s life, but you are ready to call changes in weather as weird based on 0.001% of data?

Come on man!


36 posted on 05/21/2025 12:09:24 PM PDT by Bobbyvotes
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