igation and rowers for military vessels. Given their developed
use of siege machinery, it is highly probable that they would
have used rams on the front of their ships as was common
in Europe during this period. One surviving fi ft h-century
vessel shows the scenes of several battles, including one of a
naval battle with oarsmen rowing barges that have mounted
platforms with marines engaged in combat. Th ese were made
from wood lashed together with rope and, instead of sails,
relied entirely on large numbers of oarsmen. While they were
easy to maneuver in battle or as river ferries, this design was
impractical for ships at sea.
Th ere are many written records from the Han Dynasty;
one of them, the Han shu (the history of the Han Dynasty),
includes detailed accounts of sea voyages to “Tu-yüan” and
“I-lu-mo.” It took fi ve months to travel from China to the fi rst
and another four months to reach the second. It is believed
that the fi rst refers to a settlement on the northern coast of
Sumatra and the second to Arramaniya, in southern Burma.
Th ere are also references to sailing to a place called “Huang-
chih,” which some scholars surmise is Kanchipuram in south-
eastern India. Although no images of the boats survive, they
were clearly reliant on the use of sails and rudders. Th e boats
were designed with a hull that was large enough to transport
goods and supplies and to shelter the crew in bad weather or
at night. Surviving descriptions of voyages at the time make
it clear that pirates could be a problem. Th is would have ne-
cessitated building the boats with relatively high sides, not
only to protect the merchandise from the sea but also to pre-
vent surprise attacks by people using canoes. Although the
story survives only in legend, the attack on the ship carrying
Prince Kaudinya of India, the legendary founder of the em-
pire of Funan, when he arrived in coastal Cambodia presents
the possibility of surprise attacks.
Ships may indeed have gone farther, judging by the ex-
istence of Chinese and Indian goods—or at least Chinese
and Indian styles—in Madagascar. Silk from the Han Dy-
nasty was sold to the Romans, though it may have gone by
land or through middlemen. Th ere are records of a man who
claimed to be a Roman envoy arriving at the Han court in 166
c.e., and two Roman coins have been found in Oc-Eo, a Fu-
nanese port in what is now southern Vietnam. Th at Roman
merchants might have sailed to eastern Asia is also surmised
from the name the Han used for Rome: “Country West of the
Sea.” In addition to trade, it seems probable that the Han also
used ships for war. Offi cials had government barges that were
rowed along rivers and canals. It is recorded that the general
Han Xin was able to cross the Yellow River with raft s that
were made from wood and empty, closed pottery vessels used
as fl oats.
Th roughout Southeast Asia there would also have been
many merchant ships and river vessels. Th e Funan Empire
(fi rst through sixth centuries c.e.) constructed large canals,
and they probably used vessels to navigate them, though none
have been found. Th ey could have used raft s or simple barges.
For their missions to China beginning in 243 c.e. they wouldhave needed vessels capable of navigating the South China
Sea, but it is possible that the embassies used Chinese vessels.
Mention should also be made of a delegation from the em-
bassy of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 c.e.)
in 166 c.e., which is said to have visited southern China.
In northern Vietnam there are images of ships on the side
of several drums that date to 300 b.c.e.; similar drums from
the early fi rst century c.e., found in the Sunda Islands, show
images of vessels with somebody clearly working a rudder.
Carvings on the temple of Borobodur in Java (eighth century
c.e.) show the type of vessel that existed at that time.
Canoes with outriggers were used in the Pacifi c to travel
from one island to another, and larger vessels would have
been used for making more signifi cant journeys. Th e pres-
ence of people in most of the Pacifi c Islands, in Australia,
and on islands off the coast of Australia during this period
is clear evidence of substantial seafaring skills, and the Nor-
wegian explorer Th or Heyerdahl (1914–2002) in the Kon-Tiki
expedition of 1947 proved that it would have been possible for
groups of people to navigate the Pacifi c. Although there are
no historical records detailing these ancient voyages, the ab-
original people of Australia and those of many of the Pacifi c
Islands have preserved legends of sea voyages.EUROPE
BY MICHAEL J. O’NEAL
Th e oldest-known European boat, made from a single log,
was discovered at Pesse in the Netherlands and dates to about
7000 b.c.e. Numerous other Mesolithic and Neolithic dug-
out canoes have been found in many parts of Europe, such
as the ones at Noyen-sur-Seine in France and Tybrind Vig in
Denmark. Dugout canoes were used for fi shing in lakes and
streams and for transportation on slow-moving rivers and
in coastal waters. Paddles found at Tybrind Vig were carved
with geometrical designs. Dugout canoes continued to be
used in ancient Europe throughout the remainder of prehis-
toric times. Other early European boats were made of animal
hides stretched over frames made of fl exible saplings called
withies. Th ey were waterproofed with pitch and possibly even
butter. Eventually this early form of boat-building technology
was overtaken by more sophisticated methods, yet ancient
seafarers continued to use skin-covered boats until well into
the Common Era. Because these types of boats were made of
organic materials, they survive in the archaeological record
only when conditions permit their preservation.
During the Bronze Age the inhabitants of northern Eu-
rope developed greater skills in shipbuilding, including the
construction of boats from planks. Among the fi rst boats that
show evidence of advanced shipbuilding technology are the
three so-called Ferriby boats, which archaeologists found
buried in clay in northeastern England. Th ese boats, built of
oak, date to about 1600 b.c.e. While still relatively crude, they
show evidence of woodworking skill. Th e keel was built in
two sections joined by a scarf joint, or a joint made by notch-ships and shipbuilding: Europe 9790895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i979 979 10/10/07 2:30:38 PM