Rowboat
(c.4500 B.C.E.)
The use of paddles to move boats dates back to Mesopotamia.
Although it is well known that rowboats were used in Egypt as early as 3000 B.C.E. for trade along the Nile River, evidence has recently been found that suggests they may have existed far earlier. Archaeologists discovered a clay model of a boat in a burial revealed in the Mesopotamian city of Eridu. The grave is believed to have been excavated before 4000 B.C.E. Mesopotamia, sometimes referred to as "the cradle of civilisation," was the designation given to a large geographic region in the Hellenistic Period that included what is today known as Iraq and a portion of western Iran.They discovered a model of a large watercraft with a shallow bottom, resembling a barge and built to float on Mesopotamia's shallow rivers. The Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which flow from the north to the south of the area, were both a part of the region. They swiftly integrated themselves into the transportation network built by the burgeoning non-nomadic civilizations.
The majority of the boats in Mesopotamia were made from the hollow, buoyant reeds that grew in profusion in the marshes near the mouths of the two rivers because wood was in short supply there. The reeds were shaped into a boat and firmly secured with ropes.In order to calk the boat and make it watertight, bitumen was used to coat the reeds.
Going upstream was challenging, but floating downstream with the tide was straightforward. It was customary to use animals that were seen walking alongside the lake to pull the boat back, but it was soon realised that rowing was frequently simpler and faster.
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rowboat