1The Caribbean Sea forms a kind of “American Mediterranean” with the Gulf of Mexico. The Antillean Islands that separate it from the Atlantic Ocean extend over 4000 km between the north coast of South America and Florida (fig. 1). The Amerindian peopling of the archipelago took place in several waves (Keegan et al. 2013; Rouse 1992). The presence of archaic groups, whose origin could be Mesoamerican, was identified in the Greater Antilles as early as the fifth millennium BC. Later (end of the fourth millennium BC) groups of maritime nomads crisscrossed the northern Lesser Antilles and the Virgin Islands (Bonnissent 2013; Hofman et al. 2006). Are they the descendants of groups that were present earlier in the Greater Antilles or the result of a new migration of populations from northern South America? There is currently no consensus within the Caribbean archaeological community on this issue (Callaghan 2010). During the second half of the first millennium BC, a new population influx from northern South America (Orinoco Basin) marked the beginning of the development of formative societies in the archipelago. They were particularly characterised by the establishment of important networks of inter-island exchange, as well as between the islands and the continent (Berard 2013a). Finally, important links with the Guiana Shield, probably associated with a population influx, have been documented (Boomert 1986; Hofman, Hoogland 2012). Their dating as well as their exact modalities have still to be established (Bérard 2011).

2As regards navigation conditions in the West Indies, outside the hurricane season, the wind regime is dominated by trade winds blowing from the northeast. The currents are permanent and significant, mainly linked to the entry of Atlantic waters through the channels that separate the islands from each other and especially between the southern end of the archipelago and the continental coasts (South Equatorial current). The relative narrowness of these channels means that, with one exception (the Anegada Passage between Anguilla and the Virgin Islands), the islands are visible to one another (Torres, Rodriguez Ramos 2008): hence the metaphor of stepping stones that has been used by archaeologists to describe the archipelago. In any case, the precolonial human occupation of the Antilles is one of the rare examples of early human occupation of an oceanic archipelago, and a large set of archaeological data has demonstrated the capacity of all those groups to create and maintain important exchange networks inside the archipelago and with several continental areas (Hofman, van Duijvenbode 2011; Curet, Hauser 2011).

3Therefore, an evaluation of the navigation capacities of pre-Columbian populations is central for any archaeologist working on the indigenous peoples and cultures that inhabit the Antillean archipelago. However, surprising as it may be, until the past decade only a few research works have been dedicated to this topic. This has led us to develop a long-term programme aimed at addressing the issue. Our multidisciplinary programme was divided into three parts:

• a wide-reaching review of the available archaeological and ethnohistorical data;
• an ethnoarchaeological programme dedicated to the building of large oceanic canoes conforming to historical descriptions;
• an experimental navigation programme.

4Understanding the navigational capacities of the pre-Columbian populations of the Caribbean islands is central to many issues that occupy the scientific community. These include: the nature of the technical means developed; the impact of environmental factors; the possible connections between the islands of the Caribbean arc and between this latter and different areas of the American continent; the routes followed by the different migrations that led to the settlement of the archipelago (Fitzpatrick 2013).

5The project we set up was not primarily intended to answer all these questions. It originates from within a broader project whose objective was to develop a social geography of the territories (Di Méo 1998) of the first agro-ceramist groups in the Caribbean archipelago (Bérard 2018). This type of approach could not avoid a serious assessment of the technical capacity of these populations to develop and maintain regular relations and exchanges between the different islands. Very quickly, the studies we had carried out on the ancient ceramic occupations of Martinique (Bérard 2004) and Dominica (Bérard 2013b) had shown that it was imperative to try to identify and define these territories by leaving a terrestrial and insular approach and adopting a more maritime and archipelagic perspective.

1. Archaeological and historical approach to precolonial and contact period indigenous navigation techniques in the Antilles

2. Boat construction by the Kali’na of French Guiana

7Having collected and studied the available archaeological and historical data, we hoped to give substance to this information by constructing a kanawa, which would be the basis for developing an experimental navigation programme. To this end, we approached the last remaining marine carpenters of the Kali’na indigenous community in French Guiana. At the beginning of the 17th century, the Kali’na, named Galibi by the first European travellers, were family groups of farmers, hunters and fishermen, renowned for their imposing maritime fleets composed of large dugout canoes adapted to coastal and open-sea navigation. Scattered along the coast of the Guiana Sheild, Kali’na people settled over a vast area currently divided among the modern countries of Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and as far as the western bank of the Oyapock River in Brazil (fig. 1). Such an expansion explains why, at the end of the 16th century, Kali’na people were among the first indigenous groups of the region to establish contact with Europeans. Today, the communities attached to the Kali’na are still scattered along a coastal fringe stretching from the Brazilian Amazon to the Orinoco Delta. Some elders still possess knowledge inherited from their long maritime tradition, which is doomed to disappear if it is not passed on to the younger generations. The construction of two kanawa took place over a period of three months under the direction of Felix Brickman, a Kali’na marine carpenter from Suriname. The construction process followed the steps and principles drawn from the study of archaeological and ethnohistorical data and was enhanced by using Kali’na know-how. Thus, the building process was the result of technical exchanges between the experts of the scientific team and the Amerindian experts in charge of boat construction. To provide a framework for these exchanges, the documentation of the construction process was supplemented by a series of ethnographic interviews. The ­construction team, but also a larger part of the population, was interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. The latter sought to acquire technical information, but also ethnological testimonies, essential to the understanding of traditional navigation and how these boats are an important element in their own conception of Kali’na cultural identity.

8The kanawa presented here was named Akayouman (fig. 3), which means “The spirit of the grandfather snake”. Its dimensions are: length, 17.52 m; width, 1.5 m; minimum planking height, 74 cm. It weighs 1.4 tons empty and its maximum displacement was 8 tons, which leaves numerous theories regarding capacity to be considered. Examinations carried out on its hull in 2008 showed that the monoxyle element followed the shape of the original trunk. The canoe has a maximum flaring around 3 m from the bow. The dugout structure has a residual thickness that varies between 5 and 8 cm, except for the solid front. It has an 8 cm-thick solid transom with notches to hold the pagalle, a large steering paddle, as well as a footrest and backrest crossbar. The structure is reinforced by 13 frames, spaced from 1 to 1.2 m apart. The monoxyle element is connected to a stem post limited to the upper part of the bow linking the washboards forwards. Each frame is composed of a floor timber (sided dimension 6 cm) with limber hole and futtock (sided dimension 5 cm), which maintains the washboard (average thickness 2.5 cm). Screws and nails arranged as close as possible to the presumed line of the former vegetable fibre stitching provide the connections. Finally, tropical plant fibres and bitumen are used for caulking.

3. The experimental navigation programme

9The final part of the project was dedicated to an experimental navigation programme (Bérard et al. 2016b). First, we had to train a crew and reconstitute, step by step, the set of skills associated with navigating this very specific type of boat. We gathered and collated the knowledge and know-how that has been preserved until the present day by native and Creole societies in the West Indies. We also benefited from the support of an experienced va’a instructor from French Polynesia. After a long preparation and training process, we conducted four expeditions in the Lesser Antilles between 2008 and 2011 (fig. 4).

10The first was a one-day navigation dedicated to crossing the 24 nautical mile channel between Martinique and Dominica. Carried out in exceptionally calm conditions, it took us 6 hours and 48 minutes. The second was a nine-day trip including seven navigation days and two rest days. By paddling for almost 44 hours over 139 nautical miles, we reached English Harbour, Antigua, from northern Martinique. The third expedition in May 2010 took us from Grenada to Martinique (31 h 37 for 82 NM) in eight navigation days. Finally, in 2011, we again made the crossing between Martinique and Dominica but with crew changes.

12In addition to the information gathered during the various inter-island expeditions, data from various navigations along the coasts of Martinique were also collected for a total distance of 140 nautical miles. Therefore, we have been able to constitute a corpus of quantitative data (route, surface speed, ground speed, environmental data – current, wind and waves) based on a total of 410 nautical miles of navigation. This allowed us to estimate the average speed of these boats at 3 knots. This experimental navigation programme has been complemented by a hydrostatic study of the Akayouman (Billard et al. 2009) that has provided major data about its cargo capacity, which can reach 1 ton in calm waters. This study also demonstrated that kanawa that are not outrigged must carry a significant amount of ballast to ensure their stability. We made our various ­crossings with a load of about 500 kg as ballast. Thus, with an average speed of 3 knot for a crew of 27 people and a load of 500 kg, i.e. a displacement of 4 t and a draught of 0.41 m, we have been able to estimate the power developed by the crew at about 1/2 hp.

4. Discussion and conclusion

13The kanawa is an expanded and extended dugout canoe for which navigation on the high seas does not present any major difficulty. However, the morphology, as well as the mode of propulsion, the paddle, impose certain limitations. The first and probably the most important of these is the need in rough seas to maintain permanent forward movement in order to ensure the boat’s stability. Given that we were reasonably able to estimate cruising speed at 3 knots, the combination of these two elements, with regard to a crew’s ability to maintain paddling effort, allows us to approach a limit of navigation in a kanawa. A further limitation is related to environmental conditions. The most constraining factor at this level is the swell, however, it is a complex system that integrates wave height, frequency and direction with respect to route. Some conditions would require a change of course and therefore an extension of the route, others simply act against navigation. Nonetheless, observation of meteorological data shows that it is possible to navigate between the islands of the West Indies most days of the year. Concerning navigation between the islands of the archipelago, the navigation capacities of the kanawa make it possible to envisage a high frequency of trips. In addition, with two exceptions, each channel can be crossed during one day. Lastly, each trip allows the transport of many passengers and a large cargo. This navigation capacity has not only made it possible to make the archipelago a real specific space of civilisation (Keegan, Hofman 2017) but has also served as a basis for the development of important exchange networks (Hofman, Hoogland 2011; Knippenberg 2006) and the creation of inter-island micro-territories (Bérard 2018).

14Compared to previous work based on drift models (Altes 2011; Callaghan 2001, 2010, 2011 and 2013), our research allows us to move from what is possible in terms of pre-­Columbian navigation to what is probable by reintegrating the human factor through practical experience. Thus, the experimental data collected have recently been integrated into a new type of simulation (Slayton 2018) allowing much more detailed evaluation than in previous work. All the same, the production of new experimental data still seems necessary, particularly when it comes to designing hypotheses based on longer navigations, in particular, direct navigations between continental areas and the heart of the archipelago. For this reason we are preparing a new expedition between the Yucatan peninsula and the western tip of Cuba (115 NM) for July 2022.