[Aztlan] on ports and boats.

[michael ruggeri]

Lennert,

A good start is "The Sea in the Pre-Columbian World" edited by  
Elizabeth Benson and published by Dumbarton Oaks.

Mike Ruggeri



> Hallo,
>
>   First of all I want to thank Aztlan and all the people behind it.  
> Keep on doing the good work!
>
>   Secondly, I have a lot of questions so to keep it “simple” I’ll  
> begin with this one:
>
>   I’m doing research on contacts between Mesoamerica and the Andes.  
> As you probably all know, especially the introduction of metals  
> (around AD 900) in West Mexico is often attributed (see Hosler  
> 1988, 1996) to South Americans (most probably Ecuadorians). The  
> only option of course then (if proven true) is a sea route from the  
> south to the north and we know that ancient Ecuadorians built  
> seaworthy wooden rafts with sails & “rudders” (guaras). So far so  
> good. There is but one problem: where did they land? What were the  
> ancient Mesoamerican seaports? And what about Mesoamerican boats?  
> Did they “only” use canoes like in the Caribbean? Or were there  
> mesoamerican (sail) rafts? Sail rafts are mentioned by the  
> Spaniards in the Gulf of Nicoya (Costa Rica) and sail canoes in de  
> Bahía de Fonseca (El Salvador). The Tarascans are often mentioned  
> as having relations with Andean peoples (languages, culture) but  
> what about there boats? So two questions in one:
>
>   1) What (and where) were the Mesoamerican (Mexican) ports? On the  
> Balsas River? Acapulco? Tututepec? Tehuantepec? In Guatemala?
>
>   2) What were Mesoamerican (Pacific coast) boats like? The boats  
> of the Tarascans, Mixtecs, Zapotecs, Huaves (with a migration story  
> from the south ), “Pacific Mayans” and others?
>
>   Are there any people working on this subject? Do you know people  
> working on it? I know of Carlos Navarrete (he wrote some articles  
> about seafaring along the Chiapas coast) and the article  Thompson  
> wrote (although that was more about the Caribbean).
>
>   Many thanks,
>
>
> Lennert
>
>
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