New Study Unearths Humanity's "Hidden" Crossings Out Of Africa

Atlantis may be a favorite among proponents of pseudoarcheology, but it is entirely fiction – it’s not even a myth. There is, however, evidence for ancient cities and settlements that once were thriving but are now submerged underwater, from Atlit Yam in Israel to Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt. 

Jerome Dobson, a Professor of Geography at the University of Kansas, has a term for areas that would have once been sites of human settlements but are now underwater thanks to rising sea levels – “aquaterra”. These, he believes, could be an archeological goldmine providing illuminating insights into early history and some of our early ancestors’ migration in and out of Africa. 

Sea levels have undergone dramatic fluctuations over the last 120,000 years. At the time of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), some 20,000 years ago, sea levels were 125 meters lower than they are today. As such, global landmass was much greater than it is today – 11.6 percent greater – “significantly enhancing migration and travel opportunities in coastal zones,” say researchers writing in Comptes Rendus Géoscience.

The study aimed to refine the current understanding of ancient coastlines in the Middle West using a glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model of historical sea levels, and investigate alternative migratory routes from Africa over the last 30,000 years. The results suggest that some routes would have been exposed for longer than has previously been thought. 

“We wanted to generate coastlines that are physically and geophysically correct,” Dobson said in a statement. “Researchers need to use GIA modeling because simply subtracting sea-level height from topography isn’t enough. The Earth’s crust literally warps under the weight of ice sheets.”

Combining data from the GIA model with ancient DNA and archaeological evidence, the study’s authors explored several different routes, including the Suez crossing between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Other “hypothetical” routes included crossings from the Gulf of Aqaba (on the east side of the Sinai Peninsula), Bab el Mandab (a strait between Eritrea and Djibouti, and Yemen) and the Straits of Sicily and Messina (in Italy). 

The team reports possible evidence of human settlement in the Foul Bay in the form of unusually large patches of coral, as well as indications that humans travelled south-to-north and east-to-west in the Nile Valley, contrary to conventional wisdom.

“The exciting implication is that a lot of underwater landscapes have archaeological relevance, and this mapping gives scientists a better shot at finding them,” Dobson said in a statement. 

“We hope this enables people to see and explore the landscapes that were exposed during the last ice age — especially at the Last Glacial Maximum 21,000 years ago.”

This study was published in the journal Comptes Rendus Géoscience.