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Boat Iconography at the British Museum #1: Egypt
When it comes to studying the earliest watercraft, direct archaeological evidence, in the form of artefactual boats and ships, is extremely rare and fragmentary. In contrast, the iconography of ancient...
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Boat Iconography at the British Museum #2: Pre-Classic
This is the second in a series of posts on ancient boat iconography at the British Museum. The first post looked at ancient Egyptian boat models. (Click any image to enlarge.)Dating from the second...
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“Woodskin” Canoes of Guyana
Logboats are probably the best-known Amerindian watercraft in Guyana, but another boat type in common use – at least into the first half of the 20th century – is the bark canoe. Although terminology...
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Book Review: The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of Northern Eurasia, by Harri...
There are strong but superficial similarities between The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of Northern Eurasia, a new book by Harri Luukkanen and William W. Fitzhugh, and the 1964 classic The Bark Canoes and...
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Book Review: The Politics of the Canoe, Bruce Erickson and Sarah Wylie Krotz...
The Politics of the Canoe, edited by Bruce Erickson and Sarah Wylie Krotz, is a book of a different sort than that from which I normally obtain content for this blog or choose to review. A collection...
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Construction of Chinese Junks - New Resource Available
"Construction d'une jonque, Haute Yang tse", from Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 2: Construction de la Jonque by L. Audemard Thanks to a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, I am happy to present...
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Decoration of Chinese Junks - Free Download
Decorative motifs on Chinese junks. From Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 3: Ornementation et Types by L. Audemard. Plate 60.Now available for free download is Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 3: Ornementation...
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Audemard's Chinese Junks: Free Downloads of Two New Volumes
Crooked stern junk on the Yangtse River. Plate 30 from Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 5, Haut Yang Tse Kiang, by L. Audemard, 1963Now available for free download are two more volumes of the series Les...
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A duck hatchery boat. From Audemard, L., Les Jonques Chinoises, Vol. 6, Plate 76. See main text for further desription.Three more volumes of the series Les Jonques Chinoises, by L. Audemard are now...
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Boats of Vietnam and China's East Coast - free book downloads
Vietnamese "three plank canoe" (i.e., sampan) of stitched construction, used in shallow and rocky tributaries of the Mekong River. From Audemard, Les Jonques Chinoises, vol. 10, plate 42.Now available...
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Download Audemard's "History of the Junk" Free
A Chinese ship shaped like a dragon. From L. Audemard, Les Jonques Chinoises, vol. 1, plate 29. And the first shall be last.Now available for free download is the first volume of L. Audemard's...
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Coastal Vessels of Thailand - Free Book Download
Now available for free download is the Green Book of Coastal Vessels of Thailand, published in 1967 by a joint Thai-U.S. military research group as an identification guide and instruction manual for...
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Download Farrère and Fouqueray's Rare "Jonques et Sampans" Free
"Le Port de Saigon", from Jonques et Sampans, p.28 (of PDF) Now available for free download is Jonques et Sampans by Claude Farrère and Charles Fouqueray. The valuable, hand-painted limited edition...
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Download G.R.G. Worcester's "Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol. 1"
A skiff propelled by a yulow, or stern sculling oar. From Worcester, G.R.G., The Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol.1 (1947).Now available for free download is G.R.G.Worcester's monumental study The...
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Download Volume 2 of Worcester's Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze
Miao-Ch'uan boat, from Junks and Sampans of the Yangtze, Vol. 2, G.R.G. WorcesterNow available for free download is Volume 2 of G.R.G. Worcester's huge and detailed work, Junks and Sampans of the...
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Poujade's and Piétri's books on traditional Vietnamese boats: free dowloads
Blocks and pulleys onVietnamese sailboats. From Sailboats of Indochina (Voiliers d'Indochine) by J. B. Piétri. Thanks to a contributor who wishes to remain anonymous, I'm delighted to present two more...
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The Warrau Canoe and the Construction of Landscape
In October, I gave a presentation titled The Warrau Canoe and the Construction of Landscape at the first Early Watercraft Congress in Vila do Conde, Portugal. The presentation was derived from my PhD...
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Worcester's Upper Yangtze vessels - Free download
A river lifeboat, from Junks and Sampans of the Upper Yangtze (1940), by G.R.G. Worcester (Plate 9).Junks and Sampans of the Upper Yangtze by G.R.G. Worcester (1940, published by the Inspector General...
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Classification of Junks by Worcester - Free Download
Bow typology of Chinese junks, from A Classification of the Principal Chinese Sea-going Junks by Worcester (1948).Continuing our series of free downloads of books about Asian watercraft, we are pleased...
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Download Worcester's Crooked Junks, Free
A crooked-stern salt junk of Fowchow, from Worcester, G. (1941) Notes on the Crooked-bow and Crooked-stern Junks of Szechwan, following p.36.Among the most unusual Chinese watercraft are those...
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Book review: Classic Wooden Fishing Boats of the Vietnamese Coast
Classic Wooden Fishing Boats of the Vietnamese Coast: Their Design, Construction, Rigging and Fisheriesby Ken Preston2019328 pagesVietnam Women’s Publishing House, Ha NoiISBN 978-604-56-7858-9 When Ken...
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Worcester's "Floating Population in China" Now Online
A Hong Kong "beggar boat" -- a sampan that is home to a family (Worcester, 1970, p.5)Indigenous Boats is pleased to make available for free download The Floating Population in China by G.R.G....
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Fishing Sampans in Taiwan - free download
A Taiwanese fishing raft of bamboo construction (Han-po Liu, 1963, fig. 37).Fishing Sampans in Taiwan by Han-po Liu (1963), a wonderful little book published by the Taiwan Fisheries Bureau, is now...
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Canoes as Agents of Migration in Guyana
I gave this presentation on the theme of migration on 25 September, 2024, as part of the observances of Amerindian Heritage Month in Guyana. The webinar was sponsored jointly by the University of...
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Watercraft at Cambridge (UK) Anthropology Museum
Fans for watercraft ethnography would do well to visit Cambridge University's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Artefacts on display from many peoples reflect not only a variety of watercraft...
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