supplies available on a daily basis. Following the coastline
and keeping in sight of land also helped with navigation. For
example, ships trying to fi nd the right direction in the Medi-
terranean were helped by the many high mountains that are
visible from the sea. Th e Uluburun (late 14th century b.c.e.)
and Cape Gelidonya (late 12th century b.c.e.) shipwrecks are
both thought to be ships that were following the eastern Med-
iterranean trade circuits, through which ships would travel
f rom t he Leva nt to Cy pr us a nd on to R hodes a nd Crete. Th ese
ships would have stayed close to land as much as possible and
traveled from port to port.
Before Artabanus’s attack on Greece in the early fi ft h
century b.c.e., the Greek historian Herodotus (ca. 484–be-
tween 430 and 420 b.c.e.) quotes Artabanus (younger
brot her of K ing Da rius I) as say ing to t he k ing of t he Persia ns
that harbors would be needed all along the coast to receive
his fl eet “and give it protection in the event of storms.” Th e
weather plays an important role in seafaring, and ancient
sailors tried to avoid sailing in the autumn and winter. By
sailing in the spring and summer, sailors hoped to avoid the
worst storms. Protection could be achieved by taking cover
behind islands or high points of land. In the eastern Medi-
terranean many such harbors could be found and were ex-
ploited, giving ships the best access to land as well as the best
shelter from weather conditions.
It was crucial for any ancient vessel to have experienced
sailors who could observe changes in the wind, tides, and
current. Th ey would have had the expertise to navigate by
monitoring changes in the sky. Navigational instruments,
such as the compass, would not have been available to them.
By day, Near Eastern sailors would have used the direction of
the sun to distinguish between east (Asu) and west (Ereb). By
night they would have navigated by following star constella-
tions, such as Ursa Major and Ursa Minor. Th e Phoenicians
developed a reputation as excellent celestial navigators, with
the North Star, for example, being known to the Greeks as the
“Phoenician Star.” Such navigational skills allowed the Phoe-
nicians and their successors, the Carthaginians, to travel
considerable distances. Herodotus wrote that the pharaoh
Necho II (r. 610–595 b.c.e.) manned ships with Phoenicians,
and the ships were then able to circumnavigate the whole Af-
rican continent.
Th e use of oars gave ships speed and fl exibility. Ships
could adjust their position using steering oars. Ancient ships
used a square sail that was very eff ective in helping the ship
through heavy seas. When there was a lack of wind to move
the sails, the oars were used to move a vessel. From the sev-
enth century b.c.e. there was a gradual increase in the num-
ber of oars and the manpower used to propel a ship. Warships
developed several rows of oars in the aim of outmaneuvering
the enemy, which required extensive manpower and coordi-
nation. Th e Hellenistic Period (323–31 b.c.e.) saw an explo-
sion in the number of the rows of oars. Th is development
was seen in the Wars of the Diodochi (322–281 b.c.e.). For
example, in the Battle of Salamis in 306 b.c.e., next to theisland of Cyprus, ships were in battle with as many as seven
rows of oars.
Th e ancient Near East and Mesopotamia was to be dom-
inated by such peoples as the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the
Hittites, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans. Never-
theless, the necessity to maneuver a ship with precision and
accuracy remained the same. Sailors needed to focus their
attention, to maintain the safe navigation of the ship, and
to watch out for any possible dangers. Examining changes
in the weather and the sea, keeping a close eye for land, and
observing the stars and the sun required an understanding
and an awareness that were essential throughout the whole
of this period.ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
BY KIRK H. BEETZ
Among the great seafaring feats of ancient times was the mi-
gration of people from southeastern Asia to Australia during
the last great ice age in about 30,000 b.c.e. At that time the
ocean was lower than it is now, and much more land around
Australia was exposed. Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea
were all connected by land. Th e areas where seafarers would
have landed are now underwater; consequently, archaeolo-
gists have little evidence for how ancient sailors crossed the
open sea. Even though there would have been less sea to cross,
those sailors still had to cross hundreds of miles of ocean.
Archaeologists disagree about whether the sailors used raft s
or dugout canoes, with some saying canoes had not yet been
invented.
It is possible that people had learned to fi sh in the ocean
and had gained knowledge of the currents for their particu-
lar fi shing areas, so when winds blew them away, they were
able to return home by fi nding the currents they knew. Some
of these fi shermen may even have landed on Australia and
then returned home and brought their families with them to
live in the new land they had discovered. At that time Aus-
tralia would have been much wetter than it is now, with for-
ests fi lled with inviting life. Th ese people would have rowed,
used currents, and possibly used sails to cross not only to
Australia but also to islands between Australia and the Asian
mainland.
Th e most accomplished seafarers of ancient Asia and the
Pacifi c that are presently known about were the Polynesians.
Archaeologists disagree considerably over the dates for Poly-
nesian exploration, but by the end of the ancient era they had
probably reached Easter Island but had not yet reached many
islands such as those of Hawaii in the Pacifi c. Th ere were
about 20,000 unpopulated islands scattered across an enor-
mous expanse of ocean when the Polynesians began their
push to explore and settle them beginning in about the third
century c.e.
Th eir process of exploration seems to have been very
risky, but it had a high rate of success. Th ey would have outfi t-
ted outrigger canoes—boats with fl oats extended by woodenseafaring and navigation: Asia and the Pacific 9550895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i955 955 10/10/07 2:30:33 PM