repulsewarrior wrote:Why was Cyprus settled so late? (compared to Crete or Australia, for example)
The earliest evidence for human activitiy on Cyprus dates back to about 10.000 BCE. Which I find to be incredibly late, considering that the earliest evidence for (pre-human, even) activity on the other big mediterranian island of Crete dates back to around 130.000 years ago. And even Australia, which seems to be quite remote has been settled since 40.000 years ago at the latest.
Compared to Crete, Cyprus is in the same region and it doesn't seem to be much further off shore. Compared to Australia, Cyprus is much closer to the origin of the species in Africa and also to the Middle East, where humans appear to have lived for a 100.000 years or so. Also it's closer to the next shore... so how come it was settled so late?
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/ ... _to_crete/
...an interesting question i think; any answers?
The questioner has probably taken a rather superficial view and looked at everything from a modern geogrpahical and current climatic position. Indeed, looking at today's map, At about 66 Km at the closest point, Cyprus may be closer to mainland Asia Minor than Crete is to mainland Europe, but then if one takes Island hopping into account, Crete is under half the distance from the next land (about 28 Km). Take into account Crete and these Islands form a part of a ridge, whereas Cyprus has a deep trough towards the nearest land, and taking into account climate driven changes in sea level (there was a glacial period under way with reduced sea levels until about 130000 YBP) it may well then have been a lot shorter distance. That glaciation finished about 130000 years ago and sea levels then rose, until the last glaciation, which started about 115000 years ago and lasted till about 12000 years ago.
As for Australia that was first colonised by modern humans about 65000 ybp, again at a point during the last glaciation when sea levels were lower and with land bridges, and which again made any sea crossings very short. Australia was likely only separated from Papau New Guinea 8000 years ago. With the prediminant OOA theory of modern human expansion suggesting this started 70000 years, getting to Austrlia involves travelling at an average rate of a little ove 2 miles per year. Due to ice ages Humans only came to Europe at the earliest 55000 YBP.
Modern Homo sapiens first went to Crete about 12000 years ago, which is about the same time they first went to Cyprus.
