In brief
A team of Japanese researchers has embarked on a remarkable exploration, building a replica of a Paleolithic canoe to uncover how ancient humans navigated the vast Pacific Ocean over 30,000 years ago.
In 1947, inspired by the concept of ancient maritime migration, Thor Heyerdahl embarked on his famous Kon-Tiki expedition, sailing a balsa wood raft from Peru to Polynesia. Echoing this pioneering spirit, a team led by anthropologist Yousuke Kaifu from the University of Tokyo was determined to understand how ancient peoples traversed the treacherous Kuroshio current from Taiwan to Japan's Okinawa islands with primitive tools. To explore this enigma, the researchers constructed a dugout canoe, aptly named Sugime, from a hollowed-out cedar log in 2019. They utilized experimental archaeology, considering the possibility that past evidence may have succumbed to the ocean's erosion. Their findings, revealed in two compelling studies published in *Science*, underline the successful reconstruction of potential migration routes and the significant challenges faced by ancient mariners. Through advanced ocean modeling techniques, the team simulated various journeys, testing different variables such as seasonal winds and ocean currents. Their ultimate test involved an actual 45-hour expedition, covering 122 nautical miles from Taiwan to Yonaguni Island. The crew, relying solely on natural navigation—observing stars and winds—demonstrated the ancient skills that could have facilitated such daunting maritime journeys.Peter Bellwood, an outside archaeologist, praised the team's findings as illuminating one of the earliest and longest possible human migrations recorded before the movement to Australia from eastern Indonesia around 50,000 years ago. The expedition not only highlights humanity's incredible adaptability and navigational prowess but also enriches our understanding of prehistoric connections across the Pacific Islands.
