Gordon Randolph Willey, Prehistoric Settlement Patterns in the
New World (Westport. Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group,
Inc., 1981).▶ ships and shipbuilding
introduction
Th e archaeological record concerning ships and shipbuilding
is thin. Few watercraft from the ancient world have survived,
because generally they were made of perishable materials.
Some of the earliest were made with such materials as reeds,
and ancient kayaks, canoes, and similar small craft were typ-
ically covered with animal skins. Later, lumber was used in
boat construction, resulting in larger, more durable craft , but
over the centuries the wreckages of these ships have largely
deteriorated. Still, marine archaeologists have located por-
tions of the wreckages of ships in such areas as the Medi-
terranean Sea, giving them insight into ancient shipbuilding
techniques. Th e archaeological record also includes artwork
that depicts boats and ships, watercraft that were entombed
with ancient rulers, and in some cases written descriptions.
Ancient civilizations constructed ships and other types
of watercraft to serve a variety of purposes. One, of course,
was exploration. As ancient peoples migrated into new re-
gions of the world, they used watercraft to navigate rivers and
coastlines, oft en in search of new food supplies or new places
to settle. Th ese craft were powered by oars or, in the case of
river barges and raft s, poles. In some parts of the world, this
impulse to explore led to the development of larger, more
ocean-worthy vessels, along with sails to harness the power
of the wind. However, other ancient cultures, such as those of
the Americas, were less interested in exploring the world than
they were in exploring the region that surrounded them.
Fishing required the use of watercraft. People who lived in
coastal communities or along rivers developed a range of wa-
tercraft that allowed them to harvest fi sh, seafood, and in time
even whales. Th ese types of watercraft had to be highly ma-
neuverable and able to operate in shallow water. Raft s, canoes,
barges, and small boats and ships were used for this purpose.
Trade in the ancient world was oft en conducted with
the help of watercraft. Because large volumes of goods had
to be transported and because land routes were both danger-
ous and diffi cult, transport by water was oft en the preferred
method. Th e wreckage of one ship found off the coast of Tur-
key yielded 20 tons of cargo, an amount of cargo that would
have been nearly impossible to transport by land. Similarly,
watercraft oft en were used to transport materials for con-
struction. Many of the stone monuments that survive from
the ancient world were built with massive stones quarried in
one location and then transported by barges closer to the con-
struction site. In some case, barges were used to ferry goods
between islands, such as the many islands of Greece.
Finally, watercraft were used for military conquest. As
shipbuilding methods became more advanced and ships be-came larger, they could be used to transport troops, weapons,
and provisions. Additionally, some of the world’s great naval
battles took place during ancient times. Th e Chinese, with
their immense coastline, led the world in shipbuilding tech-
nology during the Qin (221–207 b.c.e.) and Han (202 b.c.e.–
220 c.e.) dynasties and built a large fl eet of huge warships t hat
came to symbolize China’s power and prestige.AFRICA
BY JUSTIN CORFIELD
Although many ships—Roman, Greek, Persian, and Phoeni-
cian—in the ancient world sailed to Africa, the only African
state besides Egypt that maintained a large fl eet of its own was
Carthage. It had not only a massive navy, located in a secret
inner harbor at Carthage, but also a sizable merchant navy.
Th e Carthaginians inherited their naval traditions from
the Phoenicians, from whom they trace their civilization. At
the height of their power during the First Punic Wars (264–
241 b.c.e.), the Carthaginian navy was very large. Th e Greek
historian Appianos (second century c.e.) wrote that the na-
val harbor at Carthage had the capacity to take 200 ships,
and archaeological work at the site confi rms this possibility.
Because the Carthaginians had bases throughout North Af-
rica and also Sicily, they probably had many more ships. Th e
Greek historian Polybius (ca. 200–ca. 118 b.c.e.) stated that
in 256 b.c.e. Carthage was able to put to sea some 350 ships,
which would involve a crew of about 150,000: 300 oarsmen
and 120 marines on each vessel. Given the number of people
used to make the ships, it is evident that Carthage placed a
great deal of emphasis on its navy.
Th e major fi ghting ship used by the Carthaginians was a
quinquereme. Th ere are no archaeological remains of such ves-
sels, but historians believe that they had a large central sail and
three rows of oars, with two men pulling each of the top two
oars. Th e Carthaginians also had quadremes and triremes. Th e
trireme had three banks of oars, but the quadreme is thought
to have had one row of oars with four men pulling each oar,
two rows of oars with two men pulling each oar, or three rows
of oars with two men pulling the top oars. All three types of
designs might have been used. Th e ability of the Carthaginians
to produce such large numbers of ships was confi rmed in 1971
when the hull of a Carthaginian galley was found near the port
of Marsala in Sicily. Some of the wood had the marks of ship-
wrights, proving that they were mass-produced, which would
be the only way they could have had such a large fl eet.
Many of the Carthaginian sea battles of the First Punic
Wars took place around Sicily. Th e Romans initially copied
the design of a Carthaginian ship for their vessels. It must
have been an old design because later in the war they cap-
tured a faster vessel, which enabled them to build better
ships. At the fi rst encounter, at Milazzo in 259 b.c.e., a Car-
thaginian admiral called Hannibal (not to be confused with
the general of the same name who invaded Italy during the
Second Punic Wars) attacked the Romans but lost 50 ships.974 ships and shipbuilding: introduction0895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i974 974 10/10/07 2:30:37 PM