Researchers in Japan and Sweden have successfully re-enacted a 30,000-year-old ocean crossing using ancient tools and seafaring techniques. The team built a seaworthy dugout canoe and sailed between Taiwan and Yonaguni Island, where they encountered one of the world’s strongest currents.
The voyage suggests that early modern humans had advanced strategic seafaring knowledge, allowing them to reach remote islands without maps or metal tools. The researchers used experimental archaeology to investigate this theory. They began by testing reed-bundle and bamboo rafts, but found these too difficult to control on the open sea.
Instead, they designed a faster and more durable boat using Paleolithic-era tools. The project, which started in 2013, aimed to answer questions about how early humans arrived at remote islands and what tools they used for their journeys.
The successful re-enactment voyage supports the idea that ancient seafarers possessed skilled knowledge of ocean navigation and currents.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/science/2025/06/testing-ancient-paleolithic-migration-with-a-replica-canoe