Mallorca, Spain – An ancient limestone bridge submerged deep within Genovesa Cave on the Spanish island of Mallorca has provided new evidence that humans settled on the island much earlier than previously thought. According to a study published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, researchers have dated the bridge to nearly 6,000 years ago, shedding light on the timeline of human colonization in the western Mediterranean.
The discovery is significant, as it helps narrow the gap between the settlement timelines of the eastern and western Mediterranean regions. The lack of written records and limited archaeological evidence had previously made it challenging to determine when humans first inhabited the Mediterranean islands. However, this submerged bridge offers crucial insights into early human activity on Mallorca.
The bridge, made of large limestone blocks some spanning up to 4.2 feet was likely constructed to provide a dry path connecting the cave’s entrance to a chamber beyond an underground lake. “The presence of this submerged bridge and other artifacts indicates a sophisticated level of activity, suggesting that early settlers recognized the cave’s water resources and strategically built infrastructure to navigate it,” said Bogdan Onac, lead author of the study and professor at the University of South Florida’s School of Geosciences.
The bridge was first discovered in 2000, and initial estimates placed its age at around 3,500 years based on pottery found in one of the cave’s chambers. However, recent studies involving radiocarbon dating of bones, pottery, ash, and charcoal have pushed the estimated timeline of human presence on Mallorca back to around 9,000 years ago. The new findings confirm that the bridge was likely in use for 400 to 500 years before rising sea levels submerged it.
Researchers studied mineral formations and a distinctive “bathtub ring” on the bridge, indicating that it was constructed during a period of stable sea levels, around 6,000 years ago. This discovery adds to the growing body of evidence that early humans were more advanced and settled in the Mediterranean region earlier than previously believed.
While the exact purpose of the bridge and how ancient humans used the cave remains unclear, this latest finding is a crucial piece in understanding the early human history of the Mediterranean islands.
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