FOUNDATIONAL WATERCRAFT

The ships we think of as ancient ships were actually complex developments of more fundamental watercraft. Those fundamental watercraft were used until modern times. Some of primitive watercraft are still being used.

For example: Consider the round boat shown below.

The round boat looks primitive. The boat is made by hand with available materials near most bodies of water in the world. This round boat is still being used in Vietnam. Other round boats have been used recently in Indochina. The Welsh are known to have used round boats made with cattle hides. The Mandans, far up the Missouri river in America, used round boats made of buffalo hide.

Despite the primitive look, the round boat is an advanced foundational watercraft. Somebody somewhere had to believe that the time spent in making the boat would have benefits. Somebody had to know about the local materials. Using the round boat takes skill that must be learned.

Was this advanced fundamental watercraft invented by many people around the world? Or were the round boats of Wales and America an indicator of a migration of people?

FOUNDAMENTAL WATERCRAFT

FLOATING REEDS

Raft
Woven round boat

LOGS

Raft
Dugout log
Dugout log with side planks

AMIMAL SKINS

Hide round boat

Ribbed Animal Skins

Unimak

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