Transportation
Al-Umari’s Account of Mansa Musa’s Visit to Cairo
Mansa Musa was the leader of the Mali empire in the fourteenth century and reportedly the wealthiest person – allegedly ever. The empire covered modern-day Mali and parts of Guinea, Senegal, Mauritania, and the Gambia, and Mansa Musa expanded the territorial claim to include Gao and Timbuktu.
Tu'i Tonga Empire Map
The Tu’i Tonga Empire was an Oceanic maritime chiefdom centered on the island of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, and flourished between 1200-1500 CE.
Te Paranihi, or Maori War Canoe
Te Paranihi is a 17-meter (55 feet) war canoe, or waka taua, from the Maori culture indigenous to New Zealand.
Polynesian Oral Traditions
This collection compiled by Rawiri Taonui, a professor of Indigenous Studies, includes creation myths and stories about gods, the origin of humanity, and cultural heroes for several Polynesian cultures, such as Hawaii, Samoa, Tonga, Tahiti, and numerous others.
Moai on Easter Island
The Moai are large statues on Easter Island in Oceania, known for their distinctive head and facial features. The moai were created by the Rapa Nui people likely between 1250 and 1600 CE.
Coca Bag
This coca bag is from the Moche culture that existed in Peru between the period of 100 to 700 AD. The Moche are known for their ceramics, textiles, and metalworking practices, and this bag demonstrates the skill of Moche weavers.
Meroitic Script
The Meroitic Script was used in the Kingdom of Kush beginning in the 3rd Century BCE, or the Meroitic Period, and had two forms, Meroitic Cursive and Meroitic hieroglyphs.
Long Teaching Module: Caribbean Seafaring in the Archaic Age (2000-400 BC)
There have been many different approaches to studying seafaring in the past. We can look at the evidence of voyages in books written by prominent explorers or follow the maps maintained by successful prominent trading companies.
Least Cost Pathway Analysis Showing Movement Across a Landscape
These side by side charts show the basics of how least cost pathway analysis works in action. A geographic surface, landscape or seascape, is broken into standard size squares (or cells).
Remains of the Stargate Canoe
This image showcases one of the few remains of a canoe found in the Caribbean. The ‘Stargate’ canoe, found in a blue hole—a large marine cavern--on the island of South San Andros in the Bahamas, represents only the tip of the canoe.