<P> The Mediterranean Sea was the central superhighway of transport, trade and cultural exchange between diverse peoples encompassing three continents: Western Asia, North Africa, and Southern Europe . The history of the cultures and people of the Mediterranean Basin is important for understanding the origin and development of the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Canaanite, Phoenician, Hebrew, Carthaginian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Ottoman, Christian and Islamic cultures . </P> <P> There is evidence of stone tools on Crete, 130,000 years BCE, which proves that early humans were capable of using boats on the seas to reach the island . </P>

Where did the mediterranean culture began and where did its center later move to