Boats of the World: From the Stone Age to Medieval Times - Hardcover

McGrail, Sean

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0198144687 ISBN 13: 9780198144687

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2002

Synopsis

Maritime archaeology, the study of man's early encounter with the rivers and seas of the world, only came to the fore in the last decades of the twentieth century, long after its parent discipline, terrestrial archaeology, had been established. Yet there were seamen long before there were farmers, navigators before there were potters, and boatbuilders before there were wainwrights. In this book Professor McGrail attempts to correct some of the imbalance in our knowledge of the past by presenting the evidence for the building and use of early water transport: rafts, boats, and ships.

Professor McGrail presents a history of water transport as it has developed over millennia, from before 40,000 BC to the mid-second millennium AD. The coverage is world-wide: from the Baltic and North Seas to the Bay of Bengal and the Tasman Sea; and from the Gulf of Mexico to the China Seas and the Baring Strait.

About this title

Review:

There is much to be learnt from this very scholarly book. Especially important is its placement of developments in their proper historical context. The author certainly dispels many myths. Benefiting from an extensive index, clear glossary and enormous bibliography, this all encompassing study is a brilliant place to start for anyone wishing to know more about where we have come from in the world of ships and boats. (Fishing Boat World)

Produced to an exemplary standard in an attractive double-column format, it provides clear and commendably concise summary of this rapidly expanding sub-discipline ... This impressive body of magisterial synthesis should be made available as widely as possible. (Mariner's Mirror)

The book is well produced and the illustrations are both clear and lavish ... the evidence and the discussions are clearly set out, making it an accessible book for the non-specialist and specialist alike to use. Boats of the World will be an invaluable source for the study of ancient watercraft for many years to come. (Antiquity)

... a remarkable catalogue of waterborne activity by world cultures from prehistory to about 1500 AD (and into more recent times for certain cultures) ... show[s] just how significant maritime archaeology has become as a tool for understanding the human past. (Antiquity)

That Seán McGrail is the most widely versed scholar of small vessels was well known, but after this...we can safely say that he is also one of the most skilful communicators in his field. (L'Archeologo Subacqueo)

A great strength of Boats of the World is the blending of sources - archaeology, history, iconography, ethnography. (Times Higher Education Supplement)

McGrail's knowledge and explanation of hardly known sea and river craft and maritime trivia is particularly original. Even specialists will raise an eyebrow at the cross-cultural maritime traditions of Iron Age Britain. (Times Higher Education Supplement)

... a highly disciplined book suitable for the informed public and university students alike. (Times Higher Education Supplement)

McGrail is one of maritime archaeology's rarities: a scholar proficient both in translating the meaning behind worked planks and carpentry marks preserved along rotted sections of hulls, and in reconstructuring a ship's history from its shape and provenance to speed and function. This expertise comes from years of archaeological and ethnographic fieldwork. (Times Higher Education Supplement)

For those who wish to explore further, this book will enable them; for the general reader it stands alone as a beacon for its subject. (Maritime Life and Traditions)

About the Author:

Sean McGrail was in the Royal Navy from 1946 to 1968 and is a Master Mariner. He is also currently visiting Professor in the Department of Archaeology, University of Southampton, carries out fieldwork in South Asia for the Society for South Asian Studies (British Academy), and was formerly Professor of Maritime Archaeology, University of Oxford.

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0198144687
• ISBN 13: 9780198144687
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 360