User:Swinney629/Maritime history

Pre-historic times
Watercraft such as rafts and boats have been used far into pre-historic times and possibly even by Homo erectus more than a million years ago crossing straits between landmasses.

Little evidence remains that would pin point when the first seafarer made their journey, but it is thought to have occurred some ca. 40,000 year ago in Greater Australia. One of the oldest known boats to be found, is the Pesse canoe, and carbon dating has estimated its construction from 8040BC to 7510BC. The Pesse canoe is the oldest physical object that can date the use of watercraft, but the oldest depiction of a watercraft is the from northern Norway. The rock art at Valle, Norway depicts a carving of a more than 4 meter long boat and it is dated to be 10,000 to 11,000 years old.