Ancient maritime history

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v t e

The first true ocean-going boats were invented by the

Age of Exploration

.

Ancient seafaring

Maritime prehistory

There are indications as stone tools and traces left on a rhinoceros skeleton that suggest early hominids crossed the sea and colonized the Philippine island of Luzon in a time frame as early as 777,000 to 631,000 years ago.^{[12][non-primary source needed]}

The sea crossing by

In the

Austronesian expansion

Austronesian boat^[7]

The acquisition of the

Similarly the first encounter with large sea-going ships by the Chinese is through trade with Southeast Asian Austronesian ships (likely Javanese or Sumatran) during the Han dynasty (220 BC–200 AD) as recorded by the Chinese historian Wan Chen (萬震) in his 3rd century AD book "Strange Things of the South" (Nánzhōu Yìwùzhì — 南州異物志). This led to the development of China's own maritime technologies later on, during the Song dynasty in the 10th to 13th century AD.^{[20][21]: 38–42}

At the furthest extents of the Austronesian expansion, colonists from Borneo crossed the Indian Ocean westward to settle in Madagascar and the Comoros by around 500 AD.^[23][24]

In the east, the first true ocean voyage was the colonization of the

^: 10

Māori people of New Zealand are said to have Navigated following the zodiacal constellation of Scorpio, between Libra and Sagittarius in the southern sky positioned at about 16 hours 30 minutes right ascension and 30° south declination to find, Aotearoa, "The Land of the Long, White, Cloud".

Ancient routes and locations

Ancient maritime routes usually began in the Far East or down river from Madhya Pradesh with transshipment via historic Bharuch (Bharakuccha), traversed past the inhospitable coast of today's Iran then split around Hadhramaut into two streams north into the Gulf of Aden and thence into the Levant, or south into Alexandria via Red Sea ports such as Axum. Each major route involved transhipping to pack animal caravan, travel through desert country and risk of bandits and extortionate tolls by local potentiates.^[28]

Maritime trade began with safer coastal trade and evolved with the utilization of the monsoon winds, soon resulting in trade crossing boundaries such as the

See also:

Ship transport

Egypt

The Ancient Egyptians had knowledge of sail construction.^[32]

The first warships of

, but the first mention and a detailed description of a large enough and heavily armed ship dates from 16th century BC. "And I ordered to build twelve warships with rams, dedicated to Amun or Sobek, or Maat and Sekhmet, whose image was crowned best bronze noses. Carport and equipped outside rook over the waters, for many paddlers, having covered rowers deck not only from the side, but and top. and they were on board eighteen oars in two rows on the top and sat on two rowers, and the lower – one, a hundred and eight rowers were. And twelve rowers aft worked on three steering oars. And blocked Our Majesty ship inside three partitions (bulkheads) so as not to drown it by ramming the wicked, and the sailors had time to repair the hole. And Our Majesty arranged four towers for archers – two behind, and two on the nose and one above the other small – on the mast with narrow loopholes. they are covered with bronze in the fifth finger (3.2mm), as well as a canopy roof and its rowers. and they have (carried) on the nose three assault heavy crossbow arrows so they lit resin or oil with a salt of Seth (probably nitrate) tore a special blend and punched (?) lead ball with a lot of holes (?), and one of the same at the stern. and long ship seventy five cubits (41m), and the breadth sixteen, and in battle can go three-quarters of iteru per hour (about 6.5 knots)..." The text of the tomb of Amenhotep I (KV39). When Thutmose III achieved warships displacement up to 360 tons and carried up to ten new heavy and light to seventeen catapults based bronze springs, called "siege crossbow" – more precisely, siege bows. Still appeared giant catamarans that are heavy warships and times of Ramesses III used even when the Ptolemaic dynasty.^[33]

According to the

except for the reason of trade in the ancient maritime routes.

The belief in Herodotus' account, handed down to him by oral tradition,^[35] is primarily because he stated with disbelief that the Phoenicians "as they sailed on a westerly course round the southern end of Libya (Africa), they had the sun on their right – to northward of them" (The Histories 4.42) – in Herodotus' time it was not generally known that Africa was surrounded by an ocean (with the southern part of Africa being thought connected to Asia^[36]). So fantastic an assertion is this of a typical example of some seafarers' story and Herodotus therefore may never have mentioned it, at all, had it not been based on facts and made with the according insistence.^[37]

This early description of Necho's expedition as a whole is contentious, though; it is recommended that one keep an open mind on the subject;

Much earlier, the

, this hypothesis is disputed.

Kingdom of Punt

Main article:

Somali maritime history

straits of Malacca

.

In ancient times the

to transport their cargo.

The Mediterranean

. There is still debate on the subject of whether the Canaanites and Phoenicians were different peoples or not.

The

, built in the 3rd century BC (between 285 and 247 BC) on the island of Pharos in Alexandria, Egypt.

Many in ancient western societies, such as

.

In

The

was a manuscript document that listed in order the ports and coastal landmarks, with approximate distances between, that the captain of a vessel could expect to find along a shore. Several examples of periploi have survived.

pirates in ancient times. The island of Lemnos long resisted Greek influence and remained a haven for Thracian pirates. By the 1st century BC, there were pirate states along the Anatolian coast, threatening the commerce of the Roman Empire

.

The earliest seagoing culture in the Mediterranean is associated with Cardium pottery. Their earliest impressed ware sites, dating to 6400–6200 BC, are in Epirus and Corfu. Settlements then appear in Albania and Dalmatia on the eastern Adriatic coast dating to between 6100 and 5900 BC.^[48] The earliest date in Italy comes from Coppa Nevigata on the Adriatic coast of southern Italy, perhaps as early as 6000 cal B.C. Also during Su Carroppu culture in Sardinia, already in its early stages (low strata into Su Coloru cave, c. 6000 BC) early examples of cardium pottery appear.^[49] Northward and westward all secure radiocarbon dates are identical to those for Iberia c. 5500 cal BC, which indicates a rapid spread of cardium and related cultures: 2,000 km from the gulf of Genoa to the estuary of the Mondego in probably no more than 100–200 years. This suggests a seafaring expansion by planting colonies along the coast.^[50]

The Persian Wars

Main articles: Greco-Persian Wars and Peloponnesian War

In

Pausanias, defeated the Persian army at Plataea. The Athenian fleet then turned to chasing the Persians out of the Aegean Sea, and in 478 BC they captured Byzantium. In the course of doing so Athens enrolled all the island states and some mainland allies into an alliance, called the Delian League because its treasury was kept on the sacred island of Delos. The Spartans, although they had taken part in the war, withdrew into isolation after it, allowing Athens to establish unchallenged naval and commercial

power.

Punic Wars

Main article: Punic Wars

The

Mediterranean

would pass to the modern world via Europe instead of Africa.

Pre-Roman Britain

The Coracle, a small single-passenger-sized float, has been used in Britain since before the first Roman invasion as noted by the invaders. Coracles are round or oval in shape, made of a wooden frame with a hide stretched over it then tarred to provide waterproofing. Being so light, an operator can carry the light craft over the shoulder. They are capable of operating in mere inches of water due to the keel-less hull. The early people of Wales used these boats for fishing and light travel and updated models are still in use to this day on the rivers of Scotland and Wales.

Early

Britons also used the dugout canoe. Examples of these canoes have been found buried in marshes and mud banks of rivers at lengths of upward eight feet.^[51]

In 1992 a notable archaeological find, named the "

Carbon dating reveals that the craft dating from approximately 1600 BC might be the oldest known sea-going boat. The hull was of half oak logs and side panels also of oak were stitched on with yew lashings. Both the straight-grained oak and yew bindings are now extinct as a shipbuilding method in England. A reconstruction in 1996 proved that a crew between four and sixteen paddlers could have easily propelled the boat during Force 4 winds upwards of four knots but with a maximum of 5 knots (9 km/h). The boat could have easily carried a significant amount of cargo and with a strong crew may have been able to traverse near thirty nautical miles in a day.^[52]

Northern Europe

The

monastic

plundering made by Norsemen in Great Britain and Ireland.

Olaf Tryggvason. When he returned to Greenland, he bought the boat of Bjarni Herjólfsson and set out to explore the land that Bjarni had found (located west of Greenland), which was, in fact, Newfoundland, in Canada. The Saga of the Greenlanders tells that Leif set out around the year 1000 to follow Bjarni's route with 15 crew members, but going north.^[53]

Nusantara region

The Austronesian people from

Nusantara were already accomplished sailors since at least 1500 BC. During that era the distribution of kapur barus already reached ancient Egypt.^[54]

^: 1

The Austronesian people also reached

Tanganyika and Mozambique with 1000 boats and attempted to take the citadel of Qanbaloh, though eventually failed. The reason of the attack is because that place had goods suitable for their country and for China, such as ivory, tortoise shells, panther skins, and ambergris, and also because they wanted black slaves from Bantu people (called Zeng or Zenj by Arabs, Jenggi by Javanese) who were strong and make good slaves.^[59]: 110 The existence of black Africans was recorded until the 15th century in Old Javanese inscriptions^[60][61] and the Javanese were still recorded as exporting black slaves during the Ming dynasty era.^[62] By the 8th or 9th century A.D., ancient Indonesian ships may have already reached as far as Ghana, likely using the outrigger Borobudur ship and the K'un-lun po or jong.^[21]

^: 41–42

Indian subcontinent

Main articles:

Harappan civilisation near the present day Mangrol harbour on the Gujarat coast. Other ports were probably at Balakot and Dwarka. However, it is probable that many small-scale ports, and not massive ports, were used for the Harappan maritime trade.^[65] Ships from the harbour at these ancient port cities established trade with Mesopotamia,^[66] where the Indus Valley was known as Meluhha

.

Emperor

Kautilya's Arthashastra devotes a full chapter on the state department of waterways under nāvādhyakṣa (Sanskrit for Superintendent of ships) ^[1]. The terms, nāvā dvīpāntaragamanam (Sanskrit

for sailing to other lands by ships) and samudrasaṁyānam (maritime travel) appear in the work.

The

Indo China and throughout Maritime Southeast Asia, introducing elements of their culture to the people with whom they traded. The 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa mentions the Bay of Bengal as 'Kaliṅgodra' and historically the Bay of Bengal has been called 'Kaliṅga Sāgara' (both Kaliṅgodra and Kalinga Sagara mean Kalinga Sea), indicating the importance of Kalinga in the maritime trade.^[67]

The Tamil

Indonesian archipelago. Through conquest of the Srivijaya Empire, the Cholas secured the sea trade road to China.^[71]

China

Main articles: Naval history of China and Chinese exploration

Along the River During Qingming Festival, painted by Zhang Zeduan

, early 12th century.

In ancient China, during the Spring and Autumn period (722 BC–481 BC), large rectangular-based barge-like ships with layered decks and cabins with ramparts acted as floating fortresses on wide rivers and lakes.^[72] These were called 'castle ships' ('lou chuan'), yet there were four other ship types known in that period, including a ramming vessel.^[72] During the short-lived Qin dynasty (221 BC–207 BC) the Chinese sailed south into the South China Sea during their invasion of Annam, modern Vietnam.

During the

anchors arranged circularly instead of in one direction, "making them more reliable".^[80]

Although there were numerous naval battles beforehand, China's first permanent standing navy was established in 1132 during the

underwater while tied by the waist to the ship in order to be secure while hunting for pearls.^[83]

Japan

Main article: Naval history of Japan

Japan had a navy by at least the 6th century, with their invasions and involvement in political alliances during the Three Kingdoms of Korea. A joint alliance between the Korean Silla Kingdom and the Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907 AD) heavily defeated the Japanese and their Korean allies of Baekje in the Battle of Baekgang on August 27 to August 28 of the year 663 AD. This decisive victory expelled the Japanese force from Korea and allowed the Tang and Silla to conquer Goguryeo.

See also

• History of navigation
• Maritime timeline
• Naumachia
• Pre-Columbian transoceanic contact theories
• Pre-Columbian rafts
• Ships of ancient Rome

Notes

1. ^ Walter Macarthur. Sea Routes of Commerce: An Outline of Maritime History in Ancient and Medieval Times, with Four Map. Stratford Company, 1925
2. ISBN 0-415-23276-7
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3. ^ Augustus Hamilton. Fishing and sea-foods of the ancient Māori. J. Mackay, govt. printer, 1908
4. S2CID 87800214
   . Retrieved 13 March 2015.
5. ^ Meacham, Steve (11 December 2008). "Austronesians were first to sail the seas". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
6. ^ ^{a b} Doran, Edwin Jr. (1974). "Outrigger Ages". The Journal of the Polynesian Society. 83 (2): 130–140.
7. ^
   ISBN 978-0-415-10054-0
   .
8. ^
   ISBN 978-1-58839-524-5
   .
9. ^ Rawlinson 2001: 11–12.
10. ^ see Trade_route of Maritime_trade
11. ^ Denemark 2000: 208
12. S2CID 13742336
    .
13. ISBN 978-0-19-992507-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
    )
14. ISBN 978-0-8173-1939-7
    .
15. S2CID 205257212
    .
16. ^ "Rock art hints at whaling origins". BBC News. 20 April 2004. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
17. OCLC 836405865
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18. ISBN 978-1-920942-85-4
    .
19. ^ ^{a b} Bellwood, Peter (2014). The Global Prehistory of Human Migration. p. 213.
20. S2CID 162840685
    – via JSTOR.
21. ^ ^{a b} Dick-Read, Robert (2005). The Phantom Voyagers: Evidence of Indonesian Settlement in Africa in Ancient Times. Thurlton.
22. ISBN 978-3-319-33822-4
    .
23. PMID 15288523
    .
24. ISBN 978-1-902937-20-5
    .
25. S2CID 128641903
    .
26. ^ Goodenough, Ward Hunt (1996). Prehistoric Settlement of the Pacific, Volume 86, Part 5. American Philosophical Society. pp. 127–128.
27. ^ Liebner, Horst H. (2005), "Perahu-Perahu Tradisional Nusantara: Suatu Tinjauan Perkapalan dan Pelayaran", in Edi, Sedyawati (ed.), Eksplorasi Sumberdaya Budaya Maritim, Jakarta: Pusat Riset Wilayah Laut dan Sumber Daya Nonhayati, Badan Riset Kelautan dan Perikanan; Pusat Penelitian Kemasyarakatan dan Budaya, Universitas Indonesia, pp. 53–124
28. ^ See: Arabian Sea Trade routes
29. ^ ^{a b c} Denemark 2000: 107.
30. ^ Toutain 1979: 243.
31. ^ Scarre 1995.
32. ^ Hatshepsut oversaw the preparations and funding of an expedition of five ships, each measuring seventy feet long, and with several sails. Various others exist, also.
33. ^ Nelson Harold Hayden, Allen Thomas George and Dr Raymond O. Faulkner. «Tuthmosis III. First Emperor in the History of Mankind. His Regal companions and a Great assistants» Oxford UNV Publishing, 1921 p.127.
34. JSTOR 3856314
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35. ^ M. J. Cary. The Ancient Explorers. Penguin Books, 1963. Page 114
36. ^ Die umsegelung Asiens und Europas auf der Vega. Volume 2. By Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld. p148
37. ^ Heinz Gartmann: Sonst stünde die Welt still. Das große Ringen um das Neue. Econ, Düsseldorf 1957
38. ^ The Cambridge History of the British Empire. CUP Archive, 1963. p56
39. JSTOR 3856314
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40. ^ The Geographical system of Herodotus By James Rennel. p348+
41. hieroglyphics
    , transliteration and English is given in the dissertation of Woodhuizen, 2006, who developed it from works of Kitchen cited there
42. ^ As noted by Gardiner V.1 p.196, other texts have "foreign-peoples"; both terms can refer to the concept of "foreigners" as well. Zangger in the external link below expresses a commonly held view that "sea peoples" does not translate this and other expressions but is an academic innovation. The Woudhuizen dissertation and the Morris paper identify Gaston Maspero as the first to use the term "peuples de la mer" in 1881.
43. ^ Gardiner V.1 p.196.
44. ^ Manassa p.55.
45. ^ Line 52. The inscription is shown in Manassa p.55 plate 12.
46. ^ Bunbury, Edward Herbert; Beazley, Charles Raymond (1911). "Pytheas" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 703–704.
47. ISBN 0-631-19807-5
    , page 185
48. ^ Barry Cunliffe, Europe Between the Oceans (2008), pp.115–6; Staso Forenbaher and Preston Miracle, The spread of farming in the Eastern Adriatic, Antiquity, vol. 79, no. 305 (September 2005), additional tables.
49. ^ Showcase 3 in the Archeological Museum G. A. Sanna in Sassari
50. PMID 11707599
    .
51. ^ 57.—Ancient British Canoes. [500x225]
52. ^ Canterbury Archaeological Trust: Buckland Anglo-Saxon Cemetery Archived May 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
53. The Saga of Eric the Red
    , relates that Leif discovered the American mainland while returning from Norway to Greenland in 1000 (or possibly 1001), but does not mention any attempts to settle there. However, the Saga of the Greenlanders is usually considered the more reliable of the two.
54. ^
    ISBN 978-602-9346-00-8
    .
55. S2CID 21753825
    .
56. S2CID 162840685
    – via JSTOR.
57. ^ Manguin, Pierre-Yves (1993). "Trading Ships of the South China Sea. Shipbuilding Techniques and Their Role in the History of the Development of Asian Trade Networks". Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient: 253–280.
58. ^ Lombard, Denys (2005). Nusa Jawa: Silang Budaya, Bagian 2: Jaringan Asia. Jakarta: Gramedia Pustaka Utama. An Indonesian translation of Lombard, Denys (1990). Le carrefour javanais. Essai d'histoire globale (The Javanese Crossroads: Towards a Global History) vol. 2. Paris: Éditions de l'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.
59. ISBN 978-981-4311-96-0
    .
60. S2CID 249731102
    .
61. S2CID 165650197
    .
62. ISBN 978-7-226-05187-0
    . 一、药材:胡椒、空青、荜拨、番木鳖子、芦荟、闷虫药、没药、荜澄茄、血竭、苏木、大枫子、乌爹泥、金刚子、番红土、肉豆蔻、白豆蔻、藤竭、碗石、黄蜡、阿魏。二、香料:降香、奇南香、檀香、麻滕香、速香、龙脑香、木香、乳香、蔷薇露、黄熟香、安息香、乌香、丁皮(香)。三、珍宝：黄金、宝石、犀角、珍珠、珊瑙、象牙、龟筒、 孔雀尾、翠毛、珊瑚。四、动物：马、西马、红鹦鹉、白鹦鹉、绿鹦鹉、火鸡、白 鹿、白鹤、象、白猴、犀、神鹿（摸）、鹤顶（鸟）、五色鹦鹉、奥里羔兽。五、金 属制品：西洋铁、铁枪、锡、折铁刀、铜鼓。六、布匹：布、油红布、绞布。[4]此 外，爪哇还向明朝输入黑奴、叭喇唬船、爪哇铣、硫黄、瓷釉颜料等。爪哇朝贡贸易 输人物资不仅种类多，而且数虽可观，如洪武十五年（1382年）一次进贡的胡椒就达 七万五千斤。[5]而民间贸易显更大，据葡商Francisco de Sa记载："万丹、雅加达等港 口每年自漳州有帆船20艘驶来装载3万奎塔尔（quiutai）的胡椒。"1奎塔尔约合59 公斤则当年从爪哇输入中国胡椒达177万公斤。
63. ^ Science and Technology in Ancient India. Vijnan Bharati, 2002. Page 18.
64. ^ Shikaripur Ranganatha Rao. Lothal, a Harappan Port Town (1955–62). 1979. Page 44.
65. ^ Possehl, Gregory. Meluhha. in: J. Reade (ed.) The Indian Ocean in Antiquity. London: Kegan Paul Intl. 1996, 133–208
66. ^ (e.g. Lal 1997: 182–188)
67. ^ The Journal of Orissan History, Volumes 13-15. Orissa History Congress. 1995. p. 54.
68. ^ (A Global History of Architecture), by Mark M. Jarzombek, Vikramaditya Prakash
69. ^ (The State at War in South Asia), by Pradeep Barua
70. ^ K.A. Neelakanda sastri
71. ^ (Nagapattinam to Suvarnadwipa:Reflections on the Chola Naval Expeditions to Southeast Asia), Hermann Kulke, K Kesavapany, Vijay Sakhuja, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, 2009
72. ^ ^{a b} Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 678–679.
73. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 649–650.
74. ^ Sun, 161–167.
75. ^ Chen, 67–71.
76. ^ Sun, 220–221.
77. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 680.
78. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 660
79. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 352
80. ^ Graff, 86.
81. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 476.
82. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 463.
83. ^ Needham, Volume 4, Part 3, 668.

References

• Hattendorf, John B. (2007). Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History
  .
• Denemark, Robert Allen; el al. (2000). World System History: The Social Science of Long-Term Change. Routledge.
  ISBN 0-415-23276-7
  .
• Hall, John Whitney (1991). Cambridge History of Japan, Volume 4. New York: Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 0-521-22355-5
  .

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