human remains in the West are older than previously thought

Archeology always prepares interesting discoveries for us. The best part is that they often do this based on previous results. As an example, we cite a case where a mysterious passage was found under the waters of Spain, indicating the presence of man earlier than previously thought.

A mysterious underwater passage discovered 25 years ago and still revealing its secrets

In 1999, a team of archaeologists discovered a megalithic bridge forming a now submerged 7.6 meter long passage that was used to cross a lake between two higher level chambers in a located cave called Genovesa. in Manacor

This discovery was astonishing at the time because it allowed the chronology of the first human settlements to be dated to approximately 4,400 years ago. A quarter of a century later, new evidence discovered with advancing technology shows that The island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean was inhabited long before.

What do the finds found on this ancient bridge mean?

These discoveries answer the question of when man first set foot on the island of Mallorca. Because, curiously, despite the fact that it is the sixth largest territory in the Mediterranean, It has been established that it was one of the last to be inhabited by humans..

The passage consists of blocks of limestone rock, the width of which in some places is 1.3 meters, and which are located on top of each other. It is estimated that the depth of the lake was about 0.25 meters at the time of construction, but over time its level rose until it was completely flooded.

The passage is now in the news because it has opened up new insights into the conquest of Majorca and the arrival of man in the western Mediterranean. Because this increases the age that was thought to be 4400 years old to about 5600 years old, more or less.

This new figure was provided by scientists.working together, from the universities of New Mexico, Harvard, South Florida and the University of the Balearic Islands itself. It was published in an article featured in Communications Earth & Environment magazine.

The way they calculated this date suggests human presence earlier than previously thought.

Various studies have been carried out on the structure of the passage, which is flooded along its entire length. On the walls, the researchers noticed traces of light color at the top, made of calcite inserts, which are usually indicates past sea water height.

This data was fed into a university-created model that estimates sea levels during the Holocene. So the calculation could be refined, since they noticed that the rise in sea level coincided with the depth at which the passage was located at that moment.

Radiometric dating was then carried out, which allowed us to determine that the sea stabilized around 5,600 years ago, a fact that matches the white mark that appeared on the structure. Due to this, the bridge was not built before this date because the covered surface would not be flooded.

In conclusion, a mysterious passage discovered in Spain 25 years ago provided all the evidence to pinpoint the date when people first set foot on the island of Mallorca. This date is much earlier than expected due to rising sea levels.