BOATS AFLOAT People have used boats to move goods and people across water for thousands of years Today the word boat means a small water vessel used for fun for travel or for carrying small loads They are different than large vessels that carry many people or goods Those are called ships Small boats allow people to travel by water without getting wet They help people get to work and some Riding in a rowboat is a relaxing way to enjoy nature 4
people like fishermen actually work on boats Small boats are also perfect for exploring and getting from place to place Many people enjoy taking a canoe rowboat or kayak out on a river or a small lake On larger or rougher bodies of water motorboats and sailboats are used for recreation Small boats can be powered by people by sails or by motors They are a diverse group How they look depends on what they are used for Many people enjoy waterskiing and other water sports using small boats Diverse means different from each other 5
EARLY BOATS Ancient peoples used boats as many as ten thousand years ago Most of the earliest boats were just canoes made from hollow logs Others were flat rafts made of reeds logs or grass tied together Examples of these early boats have been found in India Egypt Mexico Peru and Bolivia among other places Some early boats were also made from animal skins stretched over a wood frame Examples of this are seen in Inuit and Native American kayaks Sometimes people This boat was made from a bull’s skin stretched over a wood frame 6
also used tree bark to make the boats strong Early boats were mainly used to carry materials For example ancient Egyptian carvings show that the stones used to make the pyramids were moved in part by boats Early sailboats were used by Scandinavian explorers beginning in about 600 CE People called Vikings used boats with sails made of wool to help them cross the Atlantic Ocean more than one thousand years ago Vikings had large and small boats This Viking sailboat is at a museum in Norway Early Native Americans used animal skins while Egyptians used reeds to make boats Why might they have chosen these boat materials Compare and Contrast 7
