Faring the Sweet Sea: Simulating Pre-Hispanic Raft and Canoe Navigation in Lake Cocibolca, Nicaragua

Summary

Before 1492, the human communities that inhabited the shores of Lake Cocibolca in Central America engaged in dynamic interactions and exchange networks, traveling across the land and canoeing or rafting on the lake and rivers to trade goods and communicate with their neighbors. Evidencing this travel network, archaeological studies have documented an abundance of ceramics and carved stone that the past inhabitants of the Lake Cocibolca region produced and traded widely during the later pre-Hispanic periods (AD 300–1550). To shed light on this interaction and exchange network, I use a geographic information system to predictively model the optimal aquatic communication routes among the near-shore and island-based settlements of this lake. This model utilizes seasonally averaged environmental variables of surface current and wind patterns and cultural variables of navigator skill, vessel shape, and propulsion method to simulate a series of lacustrine voyages. Through this model, travel times and probable routes are estimated. These simulations indicate that Lake Cocibolca is navigable by dugout canoe and raft under average conditions and it is likely that canoe travelers would have taken advantage of the prevalent current and wind patterns to contact their neighbors via this large freshwater lake.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 82nd Annual Meeting, Vancouver, BC (2017)   •
• Exploring Movement on Water: A Global Comparison of Naval Technology and Navigation Techniques

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 16014