From Ancient History to the Megaships of today documents the evolution of ships from early dugout canoes to modern megaships. Early boats included dugout canoes used by stone age populations for travel and fishing. The Ancient Egyptians had knowledge of sail construction. In medieval times, dhows were used in the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, and Persian Gulf regions. Vikings developed longboats for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare. Chinese junks carried over 200 people by 200 AD. Modern ships included the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic in 1818, and the RMS Titanic, the largest ship afloat when it sank in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg.

1. From Ancient History to the
Megaships of today

2. • In ancient maritime history,
the first boats are
presumed to have
been dugout canoes,
developed independently
by various stone age
populations, and used for
coastal fishing and travel.
• A dugout or dugout
canoe is a boat made from
a hollowed tree trunk.

3. •The Ancient Egyptians had
knowledge
of sail construction. This is
governed by the
science of aerodynamics
•Most probably the first sailing
boat.

4. • This boat is entirely made
out of wood and it is held
together by ropes.

5. • In early
modern India and Arabia the late
en-sail ship known as
the dhow was used on the
waters of the Red Sea, Indian
Ocean, and Persian Gulf.
• Dhow (Arabic ‫داو‬dāw) is the
generic name of a number of
traditional sailing vessels with
one or more masts with lateen
sails used in the Red
Sea and Indian Ocean region.
Historians are divided as to
whether the dhow was invented

6. • There were also Southeast
Asian Seafarers and Polynesians, and the Northern
European Vikings, developed oceangoing vessels and
depended heavily upon them for travel and population
movements prior to 1000 AD.
• China's ships in the medieval period were particularly
massive; multi-mast sailing junks were carrying over
200 people as early as 200 AD.

7. • Viking Longboats
(Northern Europe,
1000A.D.)
• These ships used 60
men to row the ship.
• Chinese Junks (1,100
A.D.)
• They were used as
fighting and transport
ships.

8. • Various ships were in use
during the Middle Ages.
Long ships were sea
vessels made and used
by the Vikings from
the Nordic countries for
trade, commerce,
exploration, and warfare
during the Viking
Age although scientific
analysis of the oak timber
shows at least one well
known ship was built in
Dublin, Ireland.

9. • A knarr is a type
of Norse merchant ship
famously used by
the Vikings.

10. • The cog was a design which
is believed to have evolved
from (or at least been
influenced by) the longship,
and was in wide use by the
12th century. It too used the
clinker method of
construction.
• The caravel was a ship
invented in Islamic Iberia and
used in the Mediterranean
from the 13th century.

11. • These wooden ships
were used as
battleships, and for
exploration.

12. • SS Savannah was
an American hybrid sa
iling ship/sidewheel
steamerbuilt in 1818.
She is notable for
being the first
steamship in the world
to cross the Atlantic
Ocean.

13. • The first ocean liners
made of iron and driven by
a propeller.
• When launched in
1843, Great Britain was by
far the largest vessel
afloat.

14. • The first oil tanker
in the world built by
the Nobel Brothers.

15. • RMS Titanic was a
British passenger
liner that sank in the North
Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912
after colliding with
an iceberg during he rmaiden
voyage from Southampton, UK
to New York City, US. The
sinking of Titanic caused the
deaths of 1,502 people in one of
the deadliest peacetime maritime
disasters in modern history.
• The RMS Titanic was the largest
ship afloat at the time of her
maiden voyage.

16. • First seaplane carrier. It was created by the Japanese.