The first Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean: The settlement of La Marmotta (Anguillara Sabazia, Lazio, Italy)
Juan F. Gibaja, Mario Mineo, Francisco Javier Santos, Berta Morell, Laura Caruso-Fermé, Gerard Remolins, Alba Masclans, Niccolò Mazzucco
TL;DR
This paper presents the discovery of Neolithic boats in Italy, showing early Mediterranean navigation and technological skills that aided human expansion.
Contribution
The study provides new insights into Neolithic boat technology and its role in Mediterranean expansion.
Findings
Five canoes and a nautical object were found at La Marmotta, indicating advanced boat-building skills.
The chronology of the canoes suggests a high level of technological specialization in Neolithic societies.
The findings highlight the role of navigation in the rapid expansion of Neolithic people across the Mediterranean.
Abstract
Navigation in the Mediterranean in the Neolithic is studied here through the boats that were used, the degree of technical specialisation in their construction and, above all, their chronology. After a brief explanation of the exceptional site of La Marmotta, the characteristics and chronology of the five canoes found at the settlement and one of the nautical objects linked to Canoe 1 are discussed. This will allow a reflection on the capability of Neolithic societies for navigation owing to their high technological level. This technology was an essential part in the success of their expansion, bearing in mind that in a few millennia they occupied the whole Mediterranean from Cyprus to the Atlantic seaboard of the Iberian Peninsula.
Genes, proteins, chemicals, diseases, species, mutations and cell lines named across the full text — each resolved to its canonical identifier and authoritative record.
Click any figure to enlarge with its caption.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Figure 13
Figure 14Peer Reviews
No public reviews on file for this paper yet. If you reviewed it on a platform where reviews are public (OpenReview, ICLR, NeurIPS, ICML), you can paste yours below so the community can read it here.
Videos
No videos yet. Explain this paper in a talk, walkthrough, or lecture? Add one.
Taxonomy
TopicsMaritime and Coastal Archaeology · Archaeological and Historical Studies · Law, logistics, and international trade