Prehistoric Objects Floating Across Oceans

[JackCrafty]

Question:  How likely do you think that wooden objects, made by people, floated across the oceans and ended up on far away beaches in prehistoric times?

Personally, I think this was more common than people making these journeys.  It's kind of a no-brainer.  Can you imagine discovering a dugout canoe from Europe, for example, filled with various objects like stone blades, bows, arrows, pottery, etc. washed up on a North American beach?  Or perhaps the other way around?  Humans have been making, and losing, stuff for tens of thousands of years.  I don't see why there is such debate surrounding how technology was spread in prehistoric times.

[criveraville]

Interesting. Possible yes.. That's how coconuts have become more common and if I remember correctly, after that horific sunami, Mesquit trees began to go in Asian countries.. Likely?? I'm not sure.. But makes for good campfire chat..

[JackCrafty]

I think it's VERY likely.  We really cannot grasp the concept of a thousand years, let alone five thousand years.  Isn't that how long the clovis technolgy lasted (5000 yrs)?

[Josh]

what if there is still stuff floating out there that just stays in circulating currents...never reaching land??

[JackCrafty]

I think that if there were valuable things floating out there, someone would be making money from it.   

[aero86]

josh, while this is a bit off topic from old stuff, ive read somewhere that there is an intersection or something, of currents where a bunch of trash is built up..  it just sits there..  i havent looked it up to confirm, but i could believe it.

[JackCrafty]

Yep, this is a little off topic.  See link below and then let's get back to the subject. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garbage_Patch

[Stoker]

Glass fishing net floats came from Japan to the west coast of Canada and northwestern US. Africa and Europe would be possible how many 1000's of years ago. Continants where closer together and the currents would have been different.
Jamie and Adam say "plausable"  
Thanks Leroy

[beetlebailey1977]

josh, while this is a bit off topic from old stuff, ive read somewhere that there is an intersection or something, of currents where a bunch of trash is built up..  it just sits there..  i havent looked it up to confirm, but i could believe it.

Yes this is a true statement.  I have read about this before.

[John K]

Plausable yes....But just think of the stuff sitting at the bottom of the Oceans  that have not been found yet   

[JackCrafty]

Hmmmm...  perhaps I worded my question wrong?  I was thinking about prehistoric people finding other prehistoric people's stuff.

For instance, a little boat full of stuff washes out to sea during a storm.  It is 3000BC.  A few months later the little boat washes up on a beach far away and the people who discover it say: "Wow, look! A funny looking knife made of stone!  It looks cool.  Let's copy it!"

[Jesse]

I agree. It's pretty likely that in thousands of years someone found something that floated to shore from far away.
Like you said. Thousands of years is an amazingly long time span. Especially when you think about the fact that the USA has only been a country for a little over 200 years. That's really only about 3 peoples lifetimes back to back and look how much happened in that time

[johnston]

If that boat in 3000bc  had materials on board that were unknown to the locals how do you think they reacted? Besides the fact that stuff is always washing up on beaches...

[JackCrafty]

Johnston, if the objects were unknown but obviously useful and well made, they might be considered a gift from "The Great Spirit".  The horse was considered to be such a gift when it "appeared" on the Great Plains.