Lucy Blue

Boats of South Asia

Written in non-technical language, this book sets new standards for the documentation of water transport, and introduces styles of boat-building which are unlikely to be found outside the sub-Continent. A fascinating read for anyone intererested in boats or the South Asian way of life, as well as ethnographers, and maritime archaeolgists and historians, Boats of South Asia covers recent, exhaustive fieldwork in India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka; and covers a vast array of traditional boats used in the sub-Continent today for fishing and other coastal, riverine tasks.

Morgawr: an experimental Bronze Age-type sewn-plank craft based on the Ferriby boats

This paper reports on the construction of a full-scale Bronze Age-type sewn-plank boat based on the Ferriby boats. The boat, which was named Morgawr, was constructed in the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth, England, during 2012 and the first months of 2013, as part of a larger exhibition in the museum. This paper provides the background and context of the project, describes the process of building the craft, and reflects in particular on differences between Morgawr and the ‘hypothetical reconstruction of a complete sewn-plank boat’ published in 1990 by Ted Wright and John Coates which formed the basis for this project.

Comment on Atholl Anderson's ‘Traditionalism, Interaction, and Long-Distance Seafaring in Polynesia’

Anderson sets out to critique traditional approaches to the understanding of the nature of pre-colonial/prehistoric seafaring in Polynesia and the types of vessels that were used. The evidence is limited particularly with regard to direct information concerning the nature of long-distance voyages and has to date, been based on what Anderson refers to as ‘traditionalism’ or ‘traditional’ approaches, which he suggests have generated inaccurate assumptions. These assumptions are not only misleading, but have been nurtured by subsequent scholars, perpetuating the myths created. Anderson, quite rightly, does not believe that pre-colonial vessels were larger, more substantial, or more capable than those ‘smaller’ canoes observed