Topic ID #13383 - posted 8/19/2011 3:27 AM
Jennifer Palmer
Webmaster
Homo erectus traveled the high seas 130,000 years ago
Jennifer Palmer
Webmaster
Human precursors went to sea, team says
By Helen Chappell / McClatchy Newspapers
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. — Early manlike creatures may have been smarter than we think. Recent archaeological finds from the Mediterranean show that human ancestors traveled the high seas.
A team of researchers that included an North Carolina State University geologist found evidence that our ancestors were crossing open water at least 130,000 years ago. That’s more than 100,000 years earlier than scientists had previously thought.
Their evidence is based on stone tools from the island of Crete. Because Crete has been an island for eons, any prehistoric people who left tools behind would have had to cross open water to get there.
The tools the team found are so old that they predate the human species, said Thomas Strasser, an archaeologist from Providence College who led the team. Instead of being made by our species, Homo sapiens, the tools were made by our ancestors, Homo erectus.
Read more here.
By Helen Chappell / McClatchy Newspapers
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. — Early manlike creatures may have been smarter than we think. Recent archaeological finds from the Mediterranean show that human ancestors traveled the high seas.
A team of researchers that included an North Carolina State University geologist found evidence that our ancestors were crossing open water at least 130,000 years ago. That’s more than 100,000 years earlier than scientists had previously thought.
Their evidence is based on stone tools from the island of Crete. Because Crete has been an island for eons, any prehistoric people who left tools behind would have had to cross open water to get there.
The tools the team found are so old that they predate the human species, said Thomas Strasser, an archaeologist from Providence College who led the team. Instead of being made by our species, Homo sapiens, the tools were made by our ancestors, Homo erectus.
Read more here.
Post ID#18940 - replied 8/19/2011 9:46 PM
marehart
Old news, Likely true. Not "human like"; they were human.
Post ID#18976 - replied 9/4/2011 8:18 PM
massornament
Archaeology Magazine reported on this too.
I am fairly skeptical. Not because I don't think they were capable of traveling by boat, but because from what I could see in the pictures in Archaeology Magazine, none of the hallmarks of purposely-knapped tools were there. You can go to their article on their website and enlarge the picture yourself if you're interested.
I am fairly skeptical. Not because I don't think they were capable of traveling by boat, but because from what I could see in the pictures in Archaeology Magazine, none of the hallmarks of purposely-knapped tools were there. You can go to their article on their website and enlarge the picture yourself if you're interested.
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