Evaluating the Mediterranean Evidence for Over-Water Dispersal in Premodern <i>Homo</i>

ABSTRACT The extent, antiquity, and causation of possible over-water dispersal in premodern species of hominin in the Mediterranean remain contentious. The scholarship ranges from maximalist positions, positing early and ubiquitous over-water behaviors amongst Mediterranean hominins, to minimalist positions, stressing the poor quality of evidence for over-water behavior prior to the Upper Paleolithic. Here, we comprehensively review the evidence for such over-water dispersal preceding the Upper Paleolithic. We show how the highest-quality data and the most reliable dates cluster in the Aegean and Ionian Seas between approximately 210–250 kya. We discuss the wider behavioral and evolutionary significance of this conclusion.