Indigenous navigation in Morpion’s waters

Abstract

Traditional coastal vessels are a topic of great popularity. Still common throughout the coast, both the navigation scenarios and the traditional vessels, force the reflection about the origins, adaptations and transformations present in characteristics, items and junk that, in reality, materialize the multiplicity of ethnic influences of the rich Brazilian nautical. It is an open chapter of Indigenous Archeology. What we intend with the present work is, precisely, to focus on the eminently indigenous contribution, an archaeological study of the origins of Brazilian indigenous navigation. To this end, the data available in the reports were systematized, chronic official documents from the 16th century in which the indigenous vessels were present. The geographic outline that was limited to the South and Southeast regions was necessary due to the dimensions and scope of the work that is called here, the waters of Morpion, to use an equally indigenous geographic outline. In the pages that follow the types, uses and construction techniques of the different indigenous vessels are detailed, always accompanied by the original sources of each of the data used.