A team of researchers from the National Museum of Prehistory in the southeastern county of Taitung and Tokyo City-based National Museum of Nature and Science has demonstrated the viability of hypotheses concerning seafaring in dugout canoes in the Paleolithic period, according to the Ministry of Culture.
According to the MOC, the finding resulted from a cooperative project conducted from 2017 to 2019 that has provided invaluable insight into the marine expansion of late Paleolithic peoples in East Asia.
Tokyo University professor Yousuke Kaifu and Lin Chih-hsing, former NMP vice director, along with other researchers, finished analyses of ocean currents and sea conditions and published an article in Science Advances. A related study in the same journal saw other members of the team use computer simulations to show that a sailless canoe could make it to western Japan’s Yaeyama Islands from eastern Taiwan.
In the practical experiments, Paleolithic tools such as stone axes were used to make a 7.5-meter long canoe, the researchers said. A crew of five then embarked on a two-day journey to Yonaguni Island, crossing the powerful Kuroshio Current, the ministry said, adding that a documentary with Chinese subtitles has been uploaded to the NMP’s YouTube channel.
The MOC said that the NMP pledged to continue collaboration with global academic institutions to explore the evolution of the nation’s culture and history as well as its links to the wider world. (POC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
According to the MOC, the finding resulted from a cooperative project conducted from 2017 to 2019 that has provided invaluable insight into the marine expansion of late Paleolithic peoples in East Asia.
Tokyo University professor Yousuke Kaifu and Lin Chih-hsing, former NMP vice director, along with other researchers, finished analyses of ocean currents and sea conditions and published an article in Science Advances. A related study in the same journal saw other members of the team use computer simulations to show that a sailless canoe could make it to western Japan’s Yaeyama Islands from eastern Taiwan.
In the practical experiments, Paleolithic tools such as stone axes were used to make a 7.5-meter long canoe, the researchers said. A crew of five then embarked on a two-day journey to Yonaguni Island, crossing the powerful Kuroshio Current, the ministry said, adding that a documentary with Chinese subtitles has been uploaded to the NMP’s YouTube channel.
The MOC said that the NMP pledged to continue collaboration with global academic institutions to explore the evolution of the nation’s culture and history as well as its links to the wider world. (POC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
from Taiwan Today – Top News