Ships were the most complex constructions of any society until 
just before the Industrial Revolution.
 
    Here, experts in the field present the latest information from
nautical archaeological excavations and explore the conceptual
basis for shipbuilding traditions. The authors discuss the
earliest plank-built ships of ancient Egypt, the mortise-and-tenon
joined hulls of the ancient Mediterranean, and lapstrake
construction in northern Europe, as well as the research
methodology used to study such ships.

    Contributors examine construction methods and the problems 
of change and adaptation to shipbuilding, as well as a wide 
range of ancient boat models and evidence contained in Egyptian 
papyri. In a final chapter, they examine finds in Lake Champlain 
to shed light on the way shipbuilding reflects the maritime 
environment.

_________________________________________________________

FREDERICK M. HOCKER, who lives in Sweden, is currently working 
at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. CHERYL A. WARD lives in 
Tallahassee, Florida, where she is a professor of anthropology 
at Florida State University.


Ed Rachal Foundation Nautical Archaeology Series, in Association 
with the Institute of Nautical Archaeology


What people are saying about this book

"In perfect harmony with what we call (with great respect and affection) 
'the Steffy philosophy of shipbuilding,' many chapters contribute 
remarkably to the history of naval architecture. This book must be 
recommended to 'old, present, and future' generations of nautical 
archaeologists and historians of shipbuilding."—International Journal 
of Maritime History, September 2006