Japanese researchers built a dugout canoe using Paleolithic-era tools to explore seafaring strategies employed by ancient humans to reach remote islands like Okinawa. Their studies, published in Science Advances, detail both an experimental sailing voyage and numerical simulations, revealing that these early people likely had significant knowledge of seafaring challenges without modern technology. This research provides insights into how such communities functioned and adapted in ancient maritime environments, paralleling earlier explorations like Thor Heyerdahl's Kon-Tiki.
"We initiated this project with simple questions: 'How did Paleolithic people arrive at such remote islands as Okinawa? How difficult was their journey? And what tools and strategies did they use?'"
"The successfully re-enacted voyage suggests that early modern humans likely had a high level of strategic seafaring knowledge."
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