Re: Amerindian navigators

[stevense@iprolink.co.nz (Eric Stevens)]

On 14 Jul 1997 23:09:19 GMT, yuku@mail.trends.ca (Yuri Kuchinsky)
wrote:

  --- snip ----

>In this book, Heyerdahl writes:
>
>"It has for too long been assumed that all Peruvians in pre-Columbian
>times had neither the vessels nor daring to take them further than inshore
>fishing in the crudest of craft. This misconception stemmed from the
>dearth of information concerning daily life along the coast prior to the
>Inca period. Only in the last 30 years have archaeologists turned their
>attention to a great number of coastal sites where they have found that
>communities in the pre-Inca period based their economy to a great extent
>on fishing and maritime trade." (p. 15)
>
>Further, Heyerdahl writes that the Europeans were mostly after gold, and
>that
>
>"... The conquered coastal peoples, from whom the wealthy Incas had
>forcibly acquired most of their wealth, left only a slight impression on
>the newcomers from Europe and their chroniclers. The little information
>the chroniclers did record of their first meeting with Peruvians along the
>coast is therefore of great importance." (p. 15) 
>
>The sources that Heyerdahl is using for his analysis of early Amerindian
>navigation are as follows: Samanos (1844 [1526]: 196); Estete (1992
>[1534]); Prescott (1847), and a few others. 

I can also add the following extract from page 47 of "The Settlement
of Polynesia - A Computer Simulation" by Michael Levison, R Gerard
Ward and John W. Webb - The University of Minnesota Perss 1973":

--------

  Eastern Approaches
  from South America

  Since the Kon-Tiki raft sailed from off the Peruvian
  coast to Raroia in the Tuamotu Archipelago, seven
  more rafts have voyaged westward from the coast of
  Peru.  Six reached Polynesia (two going on to Australia)
  and one the Galapagos.9 There is no doubt that large
  sailing rafts were being used along the South American
  coast at the beginning of the sixteenth century."' A
  sophisticated system of steering with centerboards" and
  their seaworthiness made them capable of sailing from
  South America to eastern Polynesia.  Whether or not
  they actually did is another question which we cannot
  answer here.  

--------

Note the reference to " There is no doubt that large
sailing rafts were being used along the South American
coast at the beginning of the sixteenth century".

The authors refer to:

"    9. Heyerdahl, 1968:85; Alsar, 1971.
    10. Edwards, 1965:66-80.  See also Lanning, 1970.
    11. A technique not previously known to Europeans (Ed-
  wards, 1965:73).  There is some archaeological evidence which
  may be interpreted as indicating the use of sailing rafts on the
  Peruvian coast about A.D. 1000 (Edwards, 1960:390)."

OK you guys with access to better libraries than I have at hand. Stop
fighting and start digging.



Eric Stevens


There are two classes of people. Those who divide people into 
two classes, and those who don't. I belong to the second class.