of the trunk, expanding the hollowed hull. Heat-expansion
technology was also used by North American Indians along
the Northwest Coast to alter the shape of their canoes. Many
Central and North American groups were likewise aware of
the use of steam to render wood pliant in the construction
of boat frames and hulls. Th e rounded hull of the vessel not
only increased the capacity of the vessel but also added to its
stability in rough water.See also art; building techniques and materials; cli-
mate and geography; empires and dynasties; explora-
tion; gender structures and roles; hunting, fishing,
and gathering; inventions; metallurgy; migration
and population movements; military; occupations;
seafaring and navigation; trade and exchange; trans-
portation; war and conquest.FURTHER READING
George F. Bass, ed., History of Seafaring: Based on Underwater Ar-
chaeology (New York: Walker, 1972).
Lionel Casson, Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient World, 2nd ed.
(Baltimore. Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995).
Basil Greenhill, Archaeology of the Boat (Middletown, Conn.: Wes-
leyan University Press, 1976).
Herodotus, Th e Histories, trans. Robin Waterfi eld (Oxford, U.K.:
Oxford University Press, 1998).
Th or Heyerdahl, Th e Ra Expeditions (London: George Allen and
Unwin, 1971).
G. Adrian Horridge, Th e Design of Planked Boats of the Moluccas
(Greenwich, U.K.: National Maritime Museum, 1978).
Emory Dean Keoke and Kay Marie Porterfi eld, American Indian
Contributions to the World (New York: Checkmark Books,
2003).
Sean McGrail, Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval
Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
Fik Meijer, A History of Seafaring in the Classical World (New York:
St. Martin’s Press, 1986).
John S. Morrison, John F. Coates, and N. Boris Rankov, Th e Athe-
nian Trireme, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press, 2000).
R. B. Nelson, War fl eets of Antiquity (Sussex, U.K.: War Games Re-
search Group, 1973).
J. Richard Steff y, Wooden Ship Building and the Interpretation of
Shipwrecks (College Station: Texas A&M University Press,
1994).
Jack Weatherford, Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas
Transformed the World (New York: Fawcett Columbine, 1988).▶ slaves and slavery
introduction
Slavery was a nearly universal practice throughout the ancient
world, and some of the world’s great civilizations, such as
that of ancient Rome, were built on the backs of slaves. Slaves
served a variety of functions. Some were domestic slaves,working in homes, while other worked in fi elds. Many did the
most backbreaking work, including mining, stone quarrying,
digging, and construction, though some who were relatively
privileged did work that was more administrative.
Slavery took on diff ering complexions in diff erent parts
of the ancient world. In some cases, slaves were pure chattel.
Th ey had no rights and could own no property, and their mas-
ters had absolute power of life and death over them. A mas-
ter could arbitrarily kill a slave with no legal consequences
in some parts of the world. Sometimes slaves were ritually
killed and sacrifi ced in religious observances, and in ancient
Rome they were even trained as gladiators to provide amuse-
ment for the upper classes. In other cases, slavery was at least
a little bit more bearable. Sometimes people lacked freedom
because of the social class—the caste—into which they were
born. Th ey might enjoy some legal rights and protections and
might even have been able to lift themselves out of servitude.
Th eir masters could not legally abuse them and in fact were
sometimes required by law to teach them a trade. Many such
slaves, especially those who were literate and showed apti-
tude, were promoted to responsible positions on estates, in
municipalities, and the like. In some cases, child slaves could
not legally be required to do adult work.
Slavery was the only option for survival for some peo-
ple. A person with no prospects in life or who was heavily
in debt might have found servitude, with food and a place to
live, preferable to imprisonment or a slow death from starva-
tion. Indeed, some people became voluntary slaves as a way
of working off debt. In parts of the ancient world slaves were
able to own their own property, have their own money, and
even themselves own slaves. Th ey could participate in eco-
nomic activities on their own account, enabling them in time
to buy their freedom and attain the rights of full citizenship.
Th e sources of slaves varied, and slavery was rarely based
on racial categories; slaves in ancient Rome, for example,
came from all over the known world. Again, some slaves vol-
unteered to become slaves as a way to pay off debt. Others be-
came slaves because they had been convicted of a crime, and
slavery was a common form of punishment at a time when
there were few prisons. Th e most common source of slaves
was warfare. Wars or raiding parties were launched with
the purpose of acquiring slaves, and slaves were part of the
normal booty of conquest, seized in the hope that someone
would pay a ransom for their return. In many cases, women
and children became slaves as a result of conquest. Because
conquerors did not want to have to deal with captured sol-
diers, who might pose a danger to slave owners, they seized
family members instead.AFRICA
BY SAHEED ADERINTO
Slavery was prevalent in ancient Africa. Its history can be
traced roughly to the time Africans began to develop villages
and towns. Th e development of a sedentary lifestyle, whichslaves and slavery: Africa 9850895-1194_Soc&Culturev4(s-z).i985 985 10/10/07 2:30:40 PM