Sicily, an island territory, is widely regarded as one of the earliest locations in Europe to host human settlements during the Upper Paleolithic epoch. Previous academic pursuits aimed at elucidating the initial human habitation patterns on the island have predominantly centered on its northern coastal regions. However, a collaborative international contingent of archaeologists, spearheaded by researchers from Washington University in St. Louis, has recently undertaken an exploration of southeastern Sicily, Italy, meticulously examining 25 caves and rock shelters for indications of early human presence.
Coastal and underwater cave sites in southern Sicily contain important new clues about the path and fate of early human migrants to the island. Image credit: Ilaria Patania.
Sicily, the most extensive island in the Mediterranean Sea, is posited by numerous authorities to have been the inaugural island in the Mediterranean basin to achieve sustained human occupation by early hominids. Nevertheless, the precise timing and methodologies employed by these pioneering migrants in accomplishing this significant feat remain largely indeterminate.
This island lies a mere fraction of two miles distant from the Italian mainland; however, traversing the water barrier would have presented a formidable challenge to Paleolithic humans.
Within the pages of the ancient Greek epic, the Odyssey, Homer recounts Odysseus’ perilous voyage past the mythical sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis as he navigated the Sicilian Strait.
This particular strait has long been recognized by mariners of yore, who attributed the treacherous nature of its waves and formidable whirlpools to the influence of potent mythical creatures.
In contemporary times, an annual exodus of thousands of individuals from North Africa embarks on the arduous journey across this same strait. Regrettably, many do not reach their destination, with some vessels capsizing mere hundreds of meters from their intended landfall.
“Our objective is not solely to identify the very first individual to arrive, but rather to pinpoint the genesis of the initial community,” stated Dr. Ilaria Patania, a distinguished researcher affiliated with Washington University in St. Louis.
“Comprehending the temporal framework of Sicily’s initial colonization offers crucial data points for elucidating the patterns and mechanisms of early Homo sapiens dispersal throughout the Mediterranean region.”
“This line of inquiry demonstrates that novel conceptual approaches and observational perspectives can uncover hitherto imperceptible patterns,” remarked Washington University in St. Louis Professor T.R. Kidder.
“Previous scholarly consensus held that any potential habitation sites situated along Sicily’s southern periphery would have been compromised by erosion or extensive degradation, rendering them unsuitable for yielding valuable information.”
“However, the discovery of submerged archaeological contexts unveils an entirely new domain for scholarly investigation.”
“This breakthrough enables us to reassess the migratory routes adopted by these earliest modern human ancestors.”
Academic consensus indicates that anatomically modern humans had established a presence on Sicily by a point approximately 16,000 years following the Last Glacial Maximum.
Nonetheless, this established date appears remarkably late when one considers that human populations are documented to have migrated overland into Siberia approximately 30,000 years prior to that period.
This temporal discrepancy has prompted some researchers to speculate that human arrival on Sicily may have predated the currently accepted timelines by a significant margin.
Furthermore, it remains undetermined whether humans reached Sicily via maritime travel, by traversing a land bridge, or even from which cardinal direction they originated.
“A considerable challenge in comprehending the expansion of early modern human ancestors lies in our incomplete understanding of their dispersal and colonization patterns across the globe during very early stages of their development,” explained Professor Kidder.
“Did these individuals journey southward from the Italian peninsula and traverse the Strait of Messina, or did they originate from the south, following the African coastline?”
“Alternatively, is it conceivable that they engaged in a process of island hopping across the Mediterranean? Identifying archaeological sites on the southern coast facilitates our consideration of potential migratory pathways and, consequently, their behavioral strategies.”
“Within southeastern Sicily, a paucity of Upper Paleolithic sites has undergone excavation and rigorous scientific analysis,” noted Dr. Patania.
“Our ongoing project, though still in its nascent phases, has already identified and evaluated in excess of 40 sites of potential interest, approximately 17 of which have been pinpointed with enhanced precision based on re-evaluation of earlier documentation.”
Two of the newly identified locales by the research team may potentially harbor vestiges of Upper Paleolithic human activity, including fossilized faunal remains.
The Corruggi site, situated at Sicily’s southernmost extremity, was initially brought to scholarly attention by other investigators in the 1940s.
“This particular location is believed to be where a secondary land bridge once connected this island with the island of Malta,” elucidated Dr. Patania.
“Upon our examination of this site, we unearthed teeth belonging to a European wild ass alongside meticulously crafted stone implements.”
“An in-depth analysis of the biological and artifactual evidence recovered from this locale could offer profound insights into the terminal phase of the human migratory trajectory southward, specifically towards Sicily’s southernmost coast and onward towards Malta.”
During the summer months of 2024, the archaeological team dedicated their efforts to excavating a second promising site, a cave known as Campolato.
“Here, we have uncovered compelling evidence indicative of substantial sea-level fluctuations attributed to the last glacial period, as well as evidence of a localized seismic event that is presently under extensive investigation,” reported Dr. Patania.
“Our aspiration is to not only reconstruct the chronological sequence of human occupation but also to delineate the environmental conditions that shaped the lives of these ancient populations and to understand how they navigated natural phenomena such as seismic activity, prevailing climatic shifts, environmental transformations, and potentially even volcanic eruptions.”
The published findings of this research are now accessible in the esteemed academic journal PLoS ONE.
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I. Patania et al. 2024. Between land and sea: A multidisciplinary approach to understand the Early Occupation of Sicily (EOS). PLoS ONE 19 (10): e0299118; doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299118
This article represents a revised version of a press release originally issued by Washington University in St. Louis.
