Live Streaming: Great Adventure in the Wilderness-Chapter 764 - 761: A Tree Makes a Boat

In the age when humans had not yet become enlightened, the massive trees in forested areas grew wildly, towering into the clouds.

This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.

It wasn't until mountain floods erupted, and the large trees were knocked down and floated on the water, that humans caught in the deluge had no chance of survival, with the rapid currents and the giant boulders rushing downstream, both being lethal reapers.

Only an extremely small number of lucky individuals were able to cling to trees in the water, thereby finding a slim chance to escape and crossing the river.

Gradually, humans understood that massive trees could allow them to float on the surface of the water.

After that, humans derived even more uses; they learned to use trees proactively to cross dangerous rivers, but employing primitive logs was still very risky—they were slippery, prone to rolling, and one could hardly stand on rolling logs for a long time; they might still encounter attacks from dangerous creatures in the river.

Therefore, people learned a simpler method: tying several logs together with ropes to form a small floating area that wouldn't roll over and was safer.

However, such rafts were easily disassembled, and only those with superior skills could master a good enough method of raft-making.

It was not until after a long period of river-crossing practice that a clear idea emerged: as long as one section of a log was flattened and hollowed out, it could become a sturdy, durable, and maneuverable vessel—a canoe.

"A single log becomes a boat; this is the origin of the development of the canoe."

As the second large tree fell, Bi Fang sat on the timber, breathing slightly heavily.

Using an axe to chop a massive tree with a diameter over half a meter was still very physically demanding, and just chopping the tree took over an hour.

"Some records indicate that during Fuxi's time, people mainly used rafts, and it was not until the Yellow Emperor's era that boats appeared. In other words, rafts existed before boats. Of course, whether this statement about which came first is true or false cannot currently be verified."

"Canoes have been around for at least about 7,000 years; in 2002, remnants of a canoe were unearthed at the Kuahuqiao Site in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang. The remains were over five meters long and half a meter wide, dating back approximately 8,000 to 7,000 years."

Canoe remains are very rare; wooden materials buried in the ground are extremely susceptible to decay and disintegration under the action of microbes.

"The original piece was made from a whole section of Masson's pine, first charred by fire, then crafted using a stone adze. The hull was largely intact and is one of the oldest known canoes in the world."

[What is a stone adze?]

"A stone adze is a type of polished stone tool, rectangular with a single-edge blade, some of which have part of the upper portion ground off, known as 'shouldered stone adzes.' Fitted with wooden handles, they could be used for chopping and digging and were a typical tool for making canoes at the time."

"This tool was one of the most distinctive production tools in the vast coastal region of eastern Huaxia, including the Hemudu Site and many other sites where it was frequently unearthed. It could be used for the making and production of boats; likewise, it has been discovered in many parts of the world, becoming one of the important pieces of evidence in the discussion of early human oceanic migrations."

[Historian Fang, online]

[Yet another day spent on academic decadence]

[Even though I don't know what use studying it has, I'll study it first]

[Later, when chatting with friends, I can show off (laugh)]

After resting for a while and regaining some strength, Bi Fang stood up, looking at the two large trees lying on the ground.

The visual impact of the fallen palm trees was even more striking; these two trees were probably not just over fifteen meters, but even close to twenty meters!

Bi Fang once again swung his ax, chopping off the excess branches.

"At first, the structure of canoes was extremely simple, generally consisting of obtaining a rotting, trough-shaped log and making some minor adjustments to its interior, or chopping and hollowing out a log to create a trough, then removing the side branches and limbs."

"The main tools for making canoes at that time were the stone knife and stone ax. With such rudimentary tools, especially for hollowing out a trough in an entire log, the process was inevitably fraught with difficulty; therefore, the use of fire was essential during the construction of canoes."

Having chopped off all the excess branches, Bi Fang dug a pit next to the two trees.

The tree was too big, and he couldn't move it alone, so he had to make the canoe on the spot.

The resort manager had no objections to this, instead expressing his welcome.

"Creating a canoe isn't as simple as just using tools to carve out a groove. The wood is hard, and it's difficult to control one's own strength while chopping. As a result, it's quite easy to accidentally cut too far, which would render all previous efforts wasted. If we used small tools to slowly carve away bit by bit, it would take too long."

"Moreover, canoes generally emerged in the late Paleolithic period and had not yet entered the Iron Age, so the tools used were essentially stone. Carving wood with stone is incredibly inefficient."

"The method used at that time was to spread wet clay over the outside of the entire log, burn the dry wood in the middle of the log into charcoal with fire, and then chip it away with stone tools. In this way, the whole log was chipped away layer by layer from the inside out with stone tools, ultimately crafting a canoe."

Bi Fang dug two large pits in the nearby ground with a shovel, filling one with branches and then using a flint to start a fire, making a bonfire stand.

The other was filled with water to create a pit, into which he poured soil, mixing it into mud.

He also prepared to burn and then carve.

"Of course, this is a more common method, but there is another less common one, unique to the indigenous people of Australia."

"The method employed by the indigenous Australians is more delicate and imaginative compared to the one I just talked about."

"They would first find a thick tree and use a stone knife to chap the bark at the base of the tree in a circular fashion, and then at a higher point on the trunk, the length between the upper and lower cuts depending on the desired length of the canoe. Then they would peel off the bark in whole pieces."

"After peeling the bark, they would soak it in water for a few days to allow it to fully swell, then place it in the smoke from a fire to soften it. Once softened, they would fold one end of the bark."

"The bark that has been roasted tends to be very elastic, so they would find two small trees growing close together and use them to clamp the folded end of the bark."

"To prevent other parts from shrinking due to the folding at one end, and thus reducing the volume, short sticks could be used as support. After a few days, when the shape of the clamped bark had set, they would use a stone knife to drill holes along the edge and lash the front and back ends together with vines. And thus, a canoe was successfully created."

"The bark, having soaked up much water, became very heavy. Crafting a canoe often required the combined effort of several adults to be successful."

"Of course, I actually couldn't choose this method. On one hand, I am only one person, and it would be too arduous; on the other hand, it takes too long, whether it's soaking the bark, setting its shape, or sewing it together. All these steps require a significant time investment."

"If you're not careful and there's a leak anywhere, then all the previous work would be wasted. The cost is too high; hence, I chose the simplest and most common method of burning."

Bi Fang applied the mud to the palm tree.

The crowd watched with anticipation.