Boats of the World From the Stone Age to

This is the first book to deal comprehensively with the archaeology of rafts, boats, and ships from the Stone Age to Medieval times. All the regions of the world are covered, from Atlantic Europe and the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean, the China Sea, and the Pacific.

Sean McGrail was in the Royal Navy from 1946 to 1968 and is a Master Mariner. He is also currently visiting Professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, carries out fieldwork in South Asia for the Society for South Asian Studies (British Academy), and was formerly Professor of Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford.

List of Illustrations

xvi

List of Tables

xxi

Abbreviations

xxii

Conventions used in the text

xxiii

Sources and Themes

1

(13)

Maritime archaeology and boat archaeology

1

(1)

Sources of evidence

1

(4)

The reconstruction and interpretation of excavated vessels

5

(2)

Concepts behind some of the arguments in this study

7

(5)

Presentation of the evidence

12

(2)

Egypt

14

(41)

The Delta

14

(2)

Egypt's natural resources

16

(1)

Seafaring

16

(1)

The pre-Pharaonic period (c.13,000--3100 BC)

17

(3)

Non-plank craft throughout Pharaonic times

20

(3)

Planked craft of the Early Dynastic Period (c.3100--2866 BC)

23

(3)

Planked boats and ships of the Old Kingdom (c.2686--2160 BC)

26

(10)

Planked vessels of the Middle Kingdom (c.2133--1786 BC)

36

(5)

Planked vessels of the New Kingdom (c.1567--1085 BC)

41

(6)

The Late Dynastic Period (1085--332 BC)

47

(1)

Graeco-Roman times

48

(7)

Arabia

55

(33)

Overseas trade

55

(1)

Water transport before the third millennium BC

56

(2)

The third millennium BC

58

(4)

Water transport in the second and first millennia BC

62

(8)

Propulsion and steering in early Mesopotamia

70

(1)

Sewn-plank boats of the first and second millennia AD

71

(6)

Harbours and trade routes in the first century AD

77

(4)

Seafaring

81

(7)

The Mediterranean

88

(78)

Reconstructing past sea levels and climates

88

(1)

Environmental conditions

89

(6)

Overseas passages

95

(2)

Exploration and navigation

97

(5)

Water transport before the Bronze Age (before c.3800 BC)

102

(3)

The Early Bronze Age (c.3800--2000 BC)

105

(6)

The Middle Bronze Age (c.2000--1500 BC)

111

(11)

The Late Bronze Age (c.1550--1100 BC)

122

(3)

The Early Iron Age (c.1100--550 BC)

125

(16)

The trireme of the seventh-fourth centuries BC

141

(4)

Shipbuilding before the third century BC

145

(3)

The Hellenistic Age (fourth-first centuries BC)

148

(6)

The Roman Age (mid-second century BC-fourth century AD)

154

(5)

Propulsion, steering, and seafaring

159

(1)

Early frame-first vessels

160

(4)

Design of medieval frame-first ships

164

(2)

Atlantic Europe

166

(83)

The early environment

167

(3)

Early seafaring

170

(2)

Water transport before the Bronze Age

172

(12)

Bronze and Iron Age plank boats

184

(10)

Vessels built Mediterranean fashion

194

(2)

Romano-Celtic boats and ships

196

(11)

Boats and ships of the first millennium AD

207

(16)

Medieval vessels (eleventh-fourteenth centuries)

223

(20)

Late medieval ships

243

(4)

Atlantic seafaring

247

(2)

India

249

(30)

The Neolithic and Bronze Ages

250

(2)

The Iron Age

252

(3)

Graeco-Roman trade with India

255

(5)

Seafaring in the Bay of Bengal (first eighth centuries AD)

260

(1)

Medieval European contacts with India

261

(1)

Early Indian water transport

262

(7)

Planked boats and ships up to the twentieth century

269

(9)

Medieval and later navigational techniques

278

(1)

Greater Australia

279

(10)

The early environment

279

(1)

The settlement of Greater Australia

280

(3)

Water transport

283

(4)

Early prehistoric water transport

287

(2)

South-East Asia

289

(22)

Early population movements

289

(2)

Early maritime contacts

291

(2)

Water transport

293

(18)

Oceania

311

(35)

The Oceanic migration

314

(3)

Evidence for Oceanic water transport

317

(2)

Water transport

319

(19)

Early ocean-going boats

338

(1)

Navigation

339

(7)

China

346

(48)

The environmental background

346

(3)

Early water transport

349

(9)

Early inland waterways

358

(2)

Seagoing vessels

360

(14)

Characteristics of the excavated ships

374

(3)

Documentary evidence

377

(2)

The Chinese shipbuilding tradition

379

(3)

Other plank-boat traditions

382

(2)

Boat and shipbuilding sites

384

(1)

China and the world overseas

385

(7)

Pilotage and navigation

392

(2)

The Americas

394

(37)

The earliest settlement

396

(1)

Later settlements

397

(1)

European settlements in the fifteenth-eighteenth centuries

398

(2)

Water transport

400

(29)

America's earliest water transport

429

(2)

Early Water Transport

431

(10)

The state of research

431

(2)

Inter-regional comparisons

433

(4)

Boat and ship archaeology

437

(4)

Bibliography

441

(25)

Glossary

466

(5)

Index

471

What is included with this book?

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

FREE SHIPPING

Amazon no longer offers textbook rentals. We do!

Boats of the World From the Stone Age to Medieval Times

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials