SC - BOUNCE sca-cooks at becoming OT...early navigation

[Michael F. Gunter]

>From sca-cooks-owner at bastion.globeset.com  Wed Feb  3 09:12:05 1999
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From: "Kappler, MMC Richard A." <KAPPLERR at swos.navy.mil>
To: "'sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG'" <sca-cooks at Ansteorra.ORG>
Subject: becoming OT...early navigation
Date: Wed, 3 Feb 1999 10:01:43 -0500
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Elysant wrote:

Given your position on the ancients' inability to navigate north to
south 
without modern equipment then, M'lord, I would be quite interested in
what a 
seafaring person as yourself would think of the "Piri Reis" map.  (Which

apparently is authentic).

 
First off M'lady, I did not say the ancients were unable to navigate, I
said they were, as far as we know, unable to do so with reproducable
results.  Secondly, while longitude lines run north to south on a map,
they are used to determine east-west position.  As I stated, in what was
certainly not meant to be an arguementative or condescending tone,
forgive me if you took it that way, figuring your position north or
south of the equator has not been a problem for thousands of years.
What has been the problem is figuring your position east or west of your
starting point.  Thirdly, Piri Reis presented his map to the Selim I
IIRC, in 1517, after, or at least at the same time, that Europeans were
documenting the coastal cartography of the Americas.  His feat is, for
the purposes of our discussion, not terribly pertinent nor was it unique
so far as I can see.  I could just as easily (once I transfer to the
fleet reserve and hit the lottery ;-), jump aboard the Wanderer, dash of
in the direction of the rising sun each day without charts, compass or
GPS, and eventually bump solidly into Africa or Europe (hmmmm, anybody
wanna go sailing?), then continue north or south, mapping as I went, and
eventually follow the setting sun until I bumped into land again,
venture a well reasoned guess as to whether I was north or south of my
starting point and return home.  I still have an advantage though... I
ALREADY KNOW WHATS THERE!  Which of course, makes a huge difference.
All told, such an adventure would take several years, and I could not,
with any GREAT DEGREE OF ACCURACY, reproduce the journey.  My point was
simply that, because of general fear of the unknown and lack of
navigational skill or technology, the idea of a group from Egypt
purposely heading for the Americas did not seem plausible.  Mind you, at
the time we are discussing, navigation pretty much consisted of "when
you get eleven fathoms and your lead comes up slimy, turn left and
follow the coast to reach Alexandria." or some such.  (Paraquote stolen
from NOVA)  MOST (notice not all) seafarers stayed within sight of land
until the 14th century, give or take a hundred years.  That is not to
say that navigation did not exist.  The Polynesians still baffle us with
their navigational feats, the Norse used many methods, from wave and
bird watching to cloud observation and smell.  Raven-Floki got his name
by keeping ravens on board, starving them, and when he wanted to find
land would release and follow them, unerringly finding land every time.

As far as the rest of the discussion, I believe the gentle who posted on
the poor habits of the archeologists who dug up the mummies well
explains the cocaine and tobacco residue found therein, and
wholeheartedly agree with Margali's assessment of the origins, thousands
of miles and years apart, of pyramid building.  My smalls made the same
monumental historical discoveries back in their early yute, in the
sandbox.  Gravity is a wonderful teacher.  The state of seamanship and
navigation at the time of the Pharoahs does not preclude your
supposition, it merely argues against its likelyhood.

Regards, Puck

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