Earliest Humans Arrived in Sicily 16,500 Years Ago

Archaeology Magazine ^ | May 12, 2025 | editors / unattributed

[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.

[GenXPolymath]

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.

[Red Badger]

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

[F450-V10]

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.

[FlingWingFlyer]

The first pizza delivery guys.

[jimbug]

Nope. First humans were in the Garden of Eden.

[Bobbyvotes]

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.

[SunkenCiv]

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

[PIF]

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.

[1Old Pro]

Mafia shows roots going back 16499 years ago!

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

[ckilmer]

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.

[SunkenCiv]

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

[SunkenCiv]

• Age constraints for the Trachilos footprints from Crete [10/12/2021]
• Neandertals, Stone Age people may have voyaged the Mediterranean [05/05/2018]
• Controversial footprint discovery suggests human-like creatures may have roamed Crete [09/01/2017]
• The Discovery that Revealed Ancient Humans Navigated the Seas 130,000 Years Ago [2013] [07/15/2016]
• Anthropologist suggests Mediterranean islands inhabited much earlier than thought [11/16/2012]
• Neanderthals were ancient mariners [03/02/2012]
• Cretan tools point to 130,000-year-old sea travel [01/03/2011]
• On Crete, New Evidence of Very Ancient Mariners [02/17/2010]
• Ancient hominids may have been seafarers [01/14/2010]
• Who Really Discovered America? [07/14/2002]

  ---

• European Hunter-Gatherers Sailed to North Africa 8,500 Years Ago [03/27/2025]
• The indigenous population of ancient Sicily were active traders [10/12/2021]
• Sicilian amber in western Europe pre-dates arrival of Baltic amber by at least 2,000 years [09/02/2018]
• Prehistoric wine discovered in inaccessible caves forces a rethink of ancient Sicilian culture [06/21/2018]
• Enormous monolith, carved 9350 years ago, found under Mediterranean Sea [08/08/2015]
• 'Italy's Ginger Gene Spread From Sicily' [07/18/2014]
• Skeletons in Cave Reveal Mediterranean Secrets [12/12/2012]
• Sicilian Peoples: The Sicanians [05/29/2011]
• Tsunami Waves Reasonably Likely To Strike Israel, Geo-archaeological Research Suggests [10/26/2009]
• Did Noah's Flood start in the Carmel? [12/10/2008]
• Did Noah's Flood start in the Carmel? [12/10/2008]
• Did Noah's Flood start in the Carmel? [12/10/2008]
• Tsunami Or Melting Glaciers: What Caused Ancient Atlit To Sink? [06/04/2008]
• Which is the true face of 12,000 years BC?(face of a stone age woman revealed) [02/27/2007]
• GEOPHYSICS: Ancient Cataclysm Marred the Med [12/09/2006]
• Landslide At Mt. Etna Generated A Large Tsunami In The Mediterranean Sea Nearly 8,000 Years Ago [11/29/2006]

[SunkenCiv]

/bingo

[Cronos]

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.

[Cronos]

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

[Bobbyvotes]

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!