2024/5/26 15:25 Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus | ScienceDaily

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Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Breaking this hour

Cyprus
 Charge Your Laptop in a Minute?
Date: May 17, 2024  Caterpillars Detect Predators by Electricity
Source: Flinders University  'Electronic Spider Silk' Printed On Human Skin

Summary: The patterns of dispersal of early humans across continents and islands are  Engineered Surfaces Made to Shed Heat
hotly debated, but researchers have found that Pleistocene hunter-gather‐  Innovative Material for Sustainable Building
ers settled in Cyprus thousands of years earlier than previously thought. In
 Human Brain: New Gene Transcripts
examining the timing of the first human occupation of Cyprus, research
 Epstein-Barr Virus and Resulting Diseases
found that large islands in the Mediterranean Sea were attractive and favor‐
able destinations for palaeolithic peoples. These findings refute previous  Origins of the Proton's Spin
studies that suggested Mediterranean islands would have been unreach‐  Symbiotic Bacteria Communicate With Plants
able and inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies.
 Birdsong and Human Voice: Same Genetic

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2024/5/26 15:25 Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus | ScienceDaily
PLANTS & ANIMALS
Plants & Animals The patterns of dispersal of early humans
across continents and islands are hotly debat‐ Wild Animals
 Nature
ed, but researchers have found that Pleistocene Organic
 Endangered Animals hunter-gatherers settled in Cyprus thousands of Behavioral Science

 Evolutionary Biology years earlier than previously thought. EARTH & CLIMATE

 Marine Biology Weather

In examining the timing of the first human occupation of
Cyprus, research led by Flinders University's Professor Pollution
Fossils & Ruins
Corey Bradshaw found that large islands in the Recycling and Waste
 Human Evolution Mediterranean Sea were attractive and favourable desti‐
FOSSILS & RUINS
nations for palaeolithic peoples.
 Cultures Fossils
These findings refute previous studies that suggested
 Anthropology Mediterranean islands would have been unreachable and Cultures
inhospitable for Pleistocene hunter-gatherer societies. Ancient Civilizations
 Early Humans
Professor Bradshaw, with Dr Theodora Moutsiou, Dr Strange & Offbeat
RELATED TERMS Christian Reepmeyer and others, used archaeological
data, climate estimates, and demographic modelling to PLANTS & ANIMALS
 Rodent reveal the early peopling of Cyprus.
Entomologist Sheds Light on 250-Year-Old
 Green Iguana Analysis of archaeological dating from the 10 oldest sites Mystery of the German Cockroach
across Cyprus suggested first human occupation be‐ Caterpillars Can Detect Their Predators by
 Penguin the Static Electricity They Emit
tween 14,257 and 13,182 years ago, which is much earli‐
 Homo erectus er than previously thought. Key Role of Plant-Bacteria Communication
for the Assembly of a Healthy Plant
 Wild Cat The researchers say the island was then rapidly settled. Microbiome Supporting Sustainable Plant
Climate modelling indicated that this early peopling coin‐ Nutrition
 Coho salmon
cided with increases in temperature, precipitation, and EARTH & CLIMATE

 Mammoth environmental productivity sufficient to sustain large

Australian Study Proves 'Humans Are
hunter-gatherer populations. Planet's Most Frightening Predator'
 Lemur

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2024/5/26 15:25 Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus | ScienceDaily

Based on demographic modelling, the authors suggest 'Fossilizing' Cracks in Infrastructure Creates
Sealing That Can Even Survive Earthquakes
that large groups of hundreds to thousands of people ar‐
rived on Cyprus in two to three main migration events in Alaska's Rusting Waters: Pristine Rivers and
Streams Turning Orange
less than 100 years.
FOSSILS & RUINS
"This settlement pattern implies organised planning and
the use of advanced watercraft," says Professor Researchers Discover Hidden Step in
Dinosaur Feather Evolution
Bradshaw.
Ancient Arachnid from Coal Forests of
Within 300 years, or 11 generations, the population of America Stands out for Its Spiny Legs
Cyprus had expanded to a median of 4,000-5,000 How Did Sabre-Toothed Tigers Acquire Their
people. Long Upper Canine Teeth?

Dr Moutsiou says the results demonstrate that, rather

than being inhospitable, Cyprus and perhaps other
Mediterranean islands would have been attractive desti‐
nations for palaeolithic hunter-gatherer societies.

"It has been argued that human dispersal to and settle‐

ment of Cyprus and other eastern Mediterranean islands
is attributed to demographic pressures on the mainland
after abrupt climatic change saw coastal areas inundated
by post-glacial sea-level rise, forcing farming populations
to move to new areas out of necessity rather than
choice," he says.

Dr Reepmeyer adds that this interpretation came as a

consequence of major gaps in the archaeological record
of Cyprus, deriving from differential preservation of ar‐
chaeological material, preservation biases, uncertainties
associated with dating, and limited DNA evidence. "Our
research, based on more archaeological evidence and
advanced modelling techniques, changes that," he says.

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2024/5/26 15:25 Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus | ScienceDaily

Professor Bradshaw says the new research results high‐

light a need to revisit questions of early human migration
in the Mediterranean and test the validity of perceived
early settlement dates in light of new technologies, field
methods, and data.

Story Source:

Materials provided by Flinders University. Note: Content may be edited for style and
length.

Journal Reference:

1. Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Christian Reepmeyer, Frédérik Saltré, Athos Agapiou, Vasiliki

Kassianidou, Stella Demesticha, Zomenia Zomeni, Miltiadis Polidorou, Theodora
Moutsiou. Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expan‐
sion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus. Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences, 2024; 121 (21) DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318293121

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Flinders University. "Early arrival and expansion of palaeolithic people on Cyprus."

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 17 May 2024. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/05/
240517111246.htm>.

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