Because the remains of early watercraft are often found in saturated soils and peat bogs, the archaeological record tends toward overrepresentation of log and wood-plank boats. These are better preserved than watercraft made of skins, reeds, or other, more perishable materials (McGrail, 1981: 6). Sometimes this bias can be overcome to a degree by use of documentary and iconographic information, although such representations often lack detail and may be inaccurate. The biggest problem with the archaeology of small watercraft has been the tendency to resort to conjectural history to overcome the limitations and gaps imposed by the archaeological record. There are serious questions about the use of ethnographic analogies in the attempt to understand ancient boatbuilding and use (McGrail, 1998: 3). Their value to archaeology was succinctly summarized by Muckelroy (1978: 236) as providing a wider range of possibilities for assessing how particular boat technologies may have been used than experimental reconstructions or computer-generated simulations. The archaeology of boats and early ships has come a long way, however, since Muckelroy's time, and today archaeological evidence can support more empirically grounded analysis and interpretations.

Ephemeral Watercraft

The earliest direct archaeological evidence for small boats is a birchwood paddle preserved in peat and mud deposits at the site of Star Carr, a roughly 8,000-year-old Mesolithic campsite in northeastern England (Clark, 1954: 23; Fig. 77, Plate 21).