For centuries, the prevailing narrative of Mediterranean prehistory painted a clear picture: the first humans to reach its remote islands, like Malta, were Neolithic farmers bringing seeds, pottery, and the beginnings of settled life. But a stunning new study, published in Nature, has shattered that assumption—revealing that long before the first plow broke Maltese soil, hunter-gatherers were already making bold and perilous journeys across the open sea.
Led by Professor Eleanor Scerri of the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology (MPI-GEA) and the University of Malta, the international team has uncovered the oldest known evidence of long-distance seafaring in the Mediterranean. Their research shows that these daring foragers were crossing over 100 kilometers of open water, likely in simple dugout canoes, to reach islands like Malta—at least a millennium before the spread of agriculture.
This extraordinary feat, achieved 8,500 years ago, pushes the boundaries of what we thought possible for Mesolithic humans. It wasn’t just a casual island hop—they were navigating treacherous currents, enduring hours of darkness, and surviving with only what they could carry or find along the way.
A Cave of Forgotten Voyages
The story begins in the shadowy recesses of Għar Latnija, a sea-facing cave perched in the northern Mellieħa region of Malta. Here, archaeologists unearthed a treasure trove of clues: chipped stone tools, the blackened remains of hearths, and piles of cooked animal bones and shells.
This site, silent for thousands of years, has now begun to speak. The objects left behind tell of a people who weren’t just surviving—but thriving—on a remote island once believed to have been untouched until the dawn of farming.
Professor Nicholas Vella of the University of Malta, a co-investigator on the project, described the challenge these people faced. “Even on the longest day of the year,” he explained, “these seafarers would have had several hours of darkness in open water.” With no sails, compasses, or maps, these early explorers would have relied solely on their deep knowledge of the sea and skies—an ancestral GPS encoded in experience and intuition.
An Unexpected Menu
But who exactly were these ancient islanders? What sustained them once they arrived? To find out, the team turned to a vital source: ancient food waste.
Dr. Mathew Stewart of Griffith University’s Australian Research Center for Human Evolution analyzed thousands of animal remains from the cave. What he found was nothing short of remarkable.
“There were red deer, birds, tortoises, and even foxes,” he reported. “Many of these animals were believed to have gone extinct in the region long before this time.”
But it wasn’t just terrestrial animals. The Latnija cave also bore the unmistakable signature of maritime feasting. “We found bones of monk seals, remains of groupers and other fish, and thousands of marine snails, crabs, and sea urchins—all showing signs of having been cooked and eaten,” said Dr. James Blinkhorn, one of the study’s corresponding authors.
This diversity in diet reflects an adaptive, sophisticated approach to island life. These weren’t desperate castaways—they were skilled foragers who understood how to harvest the sea as much as the land. The combination of land and marine resources likely allowed them to persist in an isolated ecosystem for extended periods.
Redrawing the Map of Prehistoric Seafaring
These findings challenge long-held assumptions about who could reach the Mediterranean’s remote islands, and when. Traditionally, archaeologists believed that the seafaring necessary to reach islands like Malta was only possible with the rise of Neolithic technology—particularly the sail and more advanced navigation tools. But the evidence from Għar Latnija rewrites that timeline.
“Hunter-gatherers have long been seen as land-bound,” said Professor Scerri. “But this discovery shows that they were engaging in advanced maritime travel and even colonizing islands thousands of years before the agricultural revolution.”
That revelation forces us to reconsider how interconnected Mesolithic communities may have been across the Mediterranean. If people could reach Malta, they could potentially reach other isolated islands as well. This hints at a broader web of prehistoric sea routes—hidden beneath the waves and our assumptions.
Extinctions and Ecosystems: A Hidden Legacy
The arrival of humans on remote islands often comes with unintended consequences—and Malta may be no exception. The presence of species long thought extinct suggests that hunter-gatherers may have played a role in the disappearance of Malta’s native fauna. Hunting pressure, habitat disturbance, and the introduction of new predators or competitors could all have contributed.
“Some of these large birds and mammals disappeared not long after humans arrived,” said Professor Scerri. “It forces us to look more carefully at the ecological footprint of even small, mobile human groups.”
This ecological impact, often attributed primarily to agriculturalists and urban settlers, may need to be traced even further back in time. It also reveals how adaptable early humans were—not just technologically, but ecologically—able to slot into entirely new environments and make them home.
Rethinking the Hunter-Gatherer
In light of these findings, the stereotypical image of the Mesolithic forager—rootless, primitive, and tethered to the land—starts to collapse. Instead, a new vision emerges: that of a seafaring strategist, daring enough to challenge the open ocean, and ingenious enough to exploit diverse food sources on unforgiving terrain.
The hunter-gatherers who reached Malta did not do so by accident. They were guided by intention, skill, and a keen understanding of their world. They were not merely wandering the edges of survival—they were expanding the human frontier.
A Thousand Years More of Maltese History
The implications for Maltese prehistory are profound. With this discovery, the timeline of human activity on the island is pushed back by a full millennium. This demands a reevaluation of the island’s earliest history, and possibly that of the entire Mediterranean.
It also raises tantalizing new questions. Did these early seafarers leave behind descendants? Did their maritime knowledge persist into later generations? Could oral traditions, stone arrangements, or even DNA in the region bear echoes of these ancient voyagers?
The team’s work is far from over. New excavations and analyses are already underway, and Malta is not the only island under renewed scrutiny. Other Mediterranean outposts, once thought unreachable by pre-agricultural societies, may soon reveal similar secrets.
The Human Sea
This groundbreaking study reveals not just a surprising episode of ancient seafaring—it redefines the very essence of what it meant to be human during the Mesolithic era. At a time when most of Europe was still forest-bound, these island explorers were peering into the unknown, carving watery highways across an ancient sea.
Their legacy, preserved in shells and stone tools, now tells a story that transcends islands and ages. It’s a story of boldness, adaptability, and the eternal human urge to explore.
As we stand on modern shores and gaze out to sea, we can now imagine not just the great mariners of classical antiquity—but those earlier pioneers, paddling into the blue thousands of years before sails ever caught wind.
Reference: Eleanor Scerri, Hunter-gatherer sea voyages extended to remotest Mediterranean islands, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08780-y. www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08780-y