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Valdivia, Jomon Fishermen, and the Nature of the North Pacific: Some Nautical Problems with Meggers, Evans, and Estrada's (1965) Transoceanic Contact Thesis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Gordon F. McEwan  and
D. Bruce Dickson
Gordon F. McEwan
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78703
D. Bruce Dickson
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology and Sociology, Texas A ' M University, College Station, TX 77843
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Abstract

Meggers, Evans, and Estrada's (1965) thesis, that storm-tossed Jomon fishermen drifted across the North Pacific to the coast of Ecuador and introduced pottery-making at the Valdivia site, is presented. The thesis is examined from the standpoint of the mechanics of such a voyage. The nature of the surface current patterns in the North Pacific are discussed, together with the weather conditions found along the presumed route, the types of vessels known archaeologically for the early Jomon, and the suitability of such vessels for a trans-Pacific crossing. Finally, the survival problems faced by a crew adrift in an open boat on the North Pacific are presented. It is concluded that contact between Jomon and Valdivian peoples was unlikely to have occurred in the manner suggested by Meggers, Evans, and Estrada. Several possible alternative routes and explanations are advanced.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Antiquity , Volume 43 , Issue 3 , July 1978 , pp. 362 - 371
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Archaeology 1978

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