Ancient Cypriots may have chosen a sea route nearly twice as long as walking between two settlements in western Cyprus. A study suggests that moving heavy goods by boat could have required about the same energy as hauling them over steep hills.
Published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, the research examined travel between Chlorakas-Palloures and Makounta-Voules during the Chalcolithic period, roughly 3800 to 2500 B.C.
Researchers calculated that a coastal voyage around the Akamas Peninsula would cover about 37 miles (60 kilometers) and require roughly 12 hours of paddling. The most efficient land route was just 19 miles (31 kilometers), taking nearly seven hours on foot. The proposed boat route stayed close to shore.
Even so, travel by water consumed about the same energy per kilogram of cargo as walking with a heavy load. Measured by distance, boating was two to five times more efficient.
Why ancient Cypriots may have favored the longer sea route
Victor Klinkenberg and Miltiadis Polidorou of the University of Cyprus modeled the routes using the ancient coastline, hills, wind, and currents. Their calculations drew on research into hiking with loads and experiments with replicas of prehistoric boats.
The boat model assumed a paddle-powered vessel about 33 to 36 feet long, carrying 20 people and 66 pounds (30 kilograms) of cargo per person. The walking model tested loads of up to 30% of a person’s body weight.
With heavy loads, the energy required to move a kilogram of goods was similar on land and sea. However, the sea journey required about 10 kilojoules per kilometer for each kilogram transported, compared with 20 to 50 on foot.
Winds affected boat speed more than currents, but seasonal differences were relatively small. The calculations also covered hauling cargo between beaches and the settlements.
Pottery and ancient skeletons offer clues about coastal travel
The researchers investigated these settlements because pottery recovered at Palloures closely resembles vessels excavated at Makounta, pointing to exchanges between the communities. One large jar found at Palloures contained a copper axe made from metal traced to Anatolia.
Transporting bulky storage jars would have been difficult without oxen or donkeys, which were absent from the island at the time. Boats could have eased that burden, although it remains unclear whether the jars carried produce or traveled empty.
Ancient skeletons offer another clue. Ear growths associated with repeated exposure to cold water and wind, known as “surfer’s ear,” were identified in 25% of males and 14.2% of females in earlier research.
Although fishing remains are scarce and no route can be confirmed, the findings challenge the idea that these communities lived “with their backs to the sea.”
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