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A early craft of economic importance. Whole or half log trunks; bamboo or reed could be lashed together to make rafts 10,000 years ago during the neolithic time period

1) Construction
Multiple whole ծառ trunks (pine, oak, poplar, alder were common in Europe). Arranged parallel and lashed with: plant fibers (flax, hemp, bast). Rawhide strips; or, twisted reeds or vines.
Sometimes there were cross-beams inserted through notches, and/or wedges hammered in to tighten structure.

Regional notes
Interior Europe (Danube, Rhine, lakes): abundant timber → common
Levant: used where wood available (Lebanon cedar regions)
Egypt: rare for large rafts (limited timber; more reed-based instead)

Variations were split logs/timber bundle rafts. Logs were split stone axes and wooden wedges.
Produced flatter surfaces, and better cargo platform. Assembled like proto-planked hulls.

Bambo variations were made in Asia; and reeds for Egypt or Levantine marshes. They float because hollow stems have air chambers and create a natural buoyancy.

2) Propulsion and control systems
Hand paddles were carved from wood; poles were used in shallow rivers like the Nile, or Danube, or along sides.
A steering oar or sweep remains the earliest “rudder” concept. Usually mounted on side or stern.
It was best for downstream travel or calm coastal waters because of poor lateral control.

Sails were early, experiemental and real. Likely a simple square or rectangular sale. Mounted on a short mast, and bipod frame.

Logs could also be mounted proto catamaran, or outrigger style.

3) Materials and toolkits
Polished stone axes, flint adzes, chisels. Fire, (to burn out wood), for shaping. Bone and antler wedges.
Trees likely gathered for straight grain, and byouancy. Dried was lighter and stronger.
Fibers were flax, bast, sinew, and leather.

4) Safety; and maintenance
Checking for lashing loosening, waterlogging/proper storage, and structural flex. More and workable lashpoints were helpful, and a design where rafts could bend or flex. Rafters with more experience would have hugged coast/riverbanks.

5) Testing/quality control included float and load tests; and, manuverability in current/wind

Neolithic people moved goods across water networks. Rafts helped with things like fiber and rope trade, and were economically imporant resources. Check it out with some more neolithic architecture today.

References: Kaifu Y, Lin C, Goto A, et al. Palaeolithic seafaring in East Asia: testing the bamboo raft hypothesis. Antiquity. 2019;93(372):1424-1441. doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.90

Neolithic boats excavated in the Mediterranean reveal advanced nautical technology from https://phys.org/news/2024-03-neolithic-boats-excavated-mediterranean-reveal.html

Andrei, M. Oldest Neolithic boats in the Mediterranean were remarkably advanced. ZME Science. https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/oldest-neolithic-boats-in-the-mediterranean-were-remarkably-advanced/

On a model ancient raft, seafarers are up the current without a paddle. (2019). Nature, 576(7787), 340. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-03780-1