The referenced paper on this was published more than a decade ago (2012):
<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440312000441?via%3Dihub" rel="nofollow">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03054...</a>
Also seems possible that the tools might have been moved, at a later date? I imagine a stone age person digging through some Neanderthal settlement remains, would loot any tools.
> Long before modern humans existed, 100,000 years ago<p>100,000ya ago is not "long before modern humans existed." Modern humans are Homo sapiens, and the oldest known Homo sapiens remains (to date, that we know of) are dated to 300,000 years ago, which is now apparently 200,000 years before "long before" Homo sapiens existed. I guess the good news is we invent the time machine before too long.
Anyone here ever read "Critical Path" by Buckminster Fuller? In it, BF winds a compelling narrative of the speculative pre-history of humanity, and touches on the early seafarers and how their tools and science have affected civilization from that point on.
> Unfortunately, archaeologists are unable to provide additional evidence because any boats used by Neanderthals would have been made of wood, which would have long since decomposed to nothing.<p>Why make the leap to assume they invented sails, given the lack of physical evidence? I mean, it seems reasonable to think they could have rowed or even floated 40km long before they developed sails, and that they would develop those techniques on the way to doing that.
Did they take sea levels into account? It may not be realistically swimmable now, but it could have been at some point fairly recently when sea levels were lower.
I think it’s important to note that this is just showing that Neanderthal were sailing long before modern human remains of sailing were dated to - lll<p>Modern humans and Neanderthals (and Denisovians) coexist for about 100-150k years before modern humans basically killed them all after interbreeding.