Guara Navigation: Indigenous Sailing off the Andean Coast

Author(s): Thor Heyerdahl

Source: Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 13, No. 2 (Summer, 1957), pp. 134-143
Published by: University of New Mexico
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GUARA NAVIGATION: INDIGENOUS SAILING
OFF THE ANDEAN COAST
THOR HEYERDAHL

INmarine
A PREVIOUS PAPER in thisjournal' theroleof thebalsa raftin the
architecture
of Peru and Ecuadorhas been and
aboriginal discussed,
we have seen thatthe Andeanboat-building principles differed fundamentally
fromthoseachievedbyour ownancestry.
Due to thetreacherous natureof theiropenrockycoastand theheavylocal
surf,the Andean boat-builders strivedforflexibilityand buoyancy morethanfor
in
elegance line, and their pliantwash-through water-craft were elaborationsof
thelife-buoy principle rather than of thevulnerable open hull.The ancient Peru-
vianswereas familiarwiththe principles of thewater-tight hull as weretheir
neighbors inChileandEcuador,buttheydreadedtheideaof a sinkablereceptacle
in off-shorenavigation, and in earlyPeruourownconception of "boat"was rep-
resentedonlybydug-outcanoesusedin calmrivers and lakes.
Throughirrigation, thecoastalpopulationwas able to growlargequantities
of Scirpustatorain floodedareas.This reed,together withbuoyantbalsa timber
imported fromEcuador,servedto perfection theneedof theearlyPeruvianmari-
ners.In far-flung areasalongthecoastpontoon-like raftsof inflated seal-skinwere
alsoinuseinthefierce surfandforvoyagesfarintotheopenocean.Buthardwood
was neveremployed forboat-building in ancientPeru,althoughlargequantities
ofbuilding timber wereraftedtotheCallao areawiththeHumboldtCurrent from
theforest areasin Chile.This strangeimport custom, whichprevailed at thevery
firstadventof theSpaniards,has survived in its originalprimitive formto our
ownday.
Almostin contrast to theelaborately carvedhardwoodshipsof theVikings,
theequallyseaworthy butplainlyutilitarian reedor balsa-lograftsof earlyPeru
wereno arttreasures worthy of entombment. The spongybalsalogswereno more
suitableforornamental carving than were the bundlesof totorareed,and only
certainraftaccessories carvedfromalgarroboor otherhardwood weresufficiently
to be as
representable preserved grave-goods, and thus occasionally interredwith
theirowneruponhis death.Such raftaccessories are amongthe mostfamiliar
woodenartifactsfoundin pre-Columbian desertgraveson the Peruviancoast.
They fallin two very distinct One
categories. is represented bytheslim-handled
The BalsaRaftin Aboriginal
1 T. Heyerdahl, offPeruand Ecuador(South-
Navigation
western ofAnthropology,
Journal vol.11,pp.251-264,
1955).
134
VOL. 13, 1957

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 GUARA NAVIGATION 135

andsingle-bladed paddle,theupperendofwhich isoften leftplainwhileonother

specimensitmay terminate in a round knob or a carved grip.Thesepaddlesare
generallyverylong,frequently sixfeet ormore. When we disregard someofthe
mostelaborately carved museum pieces,certainof which may have been emblems
ofrankorpurely ceremonial, itappears thatthesePeruvian paddles haveall been
usedbya crewkneeling orcrouching onthedeckofwideraftsmaneuvered by
morethanoneperson. Suchpaddleswereneverusedon the"caballitos" orone-
manrafts, which almostinvariably werepropelled bya pieceofsplitbamboo, or
bythemerehands.Whena wooden paddlein rarecaseswasemployed on a
suchas intheAricaareaofnorthern
"caballito," Chile,thepaddlewasdouble-
bladedlikethatusedwithan Eskimokajak.Thisprovided a betterbalanceon
thenarrow "caballito," which wasridden astridelikea horse, feetinthewater.
Eventheboat-shaped two-man reed-balsawasnarrow enoughin bowand
sterntopermit thepaddlers topropel theircraft kajak fashion withsplitbamboo.
Thisis borneoutbyhistoric record andbynumerous Mochicaeffigy jars.Only
thelarger rafts hada decktoowidetopermit thecrewtoreachthewateralter-
natelyon eachsideof thevessel, so thatthepaddlers hadto be divided intoa
starboardanda portsideteam,eachusingstrong single-bladed paddles. Benzoni
hasplainly illustrated thisbasicdifference between a three-log "caballito" anda
seven-logsailing raft in his otherwise crude drawing of the "method of fishing
andnavigating intheSouthSea,"1565.
Apartfrom beinga criterion offairsizeoftheraftonwhich itwasemployed,
suchsingle-stroke us
paddlesgive very littleadditional information. Certain
these
among paddles, areso
however, remarkably long inthe handle that theyare
obviously for the
impractical average wooden raft.We that
maysuspect they could
wellhaveserved thecrewof themoreelaborate reed-ships,thedecksof which
wereconsiderably higher abovethesurface of thewater than thatof a wooden
raft.Suchlargerreedships,oftenlashedtogether twoandtwoandcovered by
anextra deckcrowded withcrewandcargo, arewellknown from theiconographic
artoftheMochicaculture.2
Although nothing butone-man reed"caballitos" survive in a fewcoastallo-
ofPerutoday,
calities reedboatslarger thanthoseofLakeTiticacawerestillin
useoffthePeruvian coastat thetimeofEuropean arrival.The bestwerefifteen
totwenty feetlongandtenortwelve feetwide,witha crewoftwelve, andwhen
lashedtogether Mochicafashion they could carry even the Spanish beasts and
cattle.3
American
2 T. Heyerdahl, Indiansin thePacific(London,1952),PlateLXXXI,pp. 588,
589.
delNuevoMundo[1653] (Sevilla,1890-95),
Cobo,Historia
3 Bernab6 vol.3, p. 219.

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136 SOUTHWESTERN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY

More interesting information maybe deducedfromthediscovery of thesec-

ond category of raftaccessories frequently found in desert graves both on the
northand southcoastof Peru. These are long and slenderhard-wood boards,
running evenlywidefromtopto bottomwhileperforated or strongly indented at
theupperendto forma carvedgrip.The gripis cutthrough likethehandleof a
saw,intended fora push-and-pull motion. Someof theseboardsarerather crudely
manufactured, without ornamentation of anykind,whereas others havethehandle
sectionso elaborately carvedand paintedthat theyhave becomeoutstanding
samples of the local art. The former typehas not made muchimpression on
observers,and many have been lost in the hands of huaqueros.
However,a quiteconsiderable number of theornamented specimens, especially
fromthePisco,Paracas,and Ica areaon thesouth-central coast,havefoundtheir
wayto museums and collections all overtheworld,wheretheyare exhibited pri-
marilyas splendidsamplesof aboriginal Peruvianwood-carving art.The purpose
and function of thesefamiliar andyetpeculiarPeruvianartifacts haveoftenbeen
misinterpreted throughmereguess-work, and untilrecentdecadesit was not
unusualto findexhibited specimens labelled"ceremonial spades,""ceremonial
agricultural tools,"or"symbols ofdignity presumably carriedduringceremonies."
It becamegraduallymoreevident, however, thatthesepeculiarboardsweresome
unusualmarineimplements, sincetheyweregenerally associatedwithfishermen's
equipment or otherartifactsimplying marineactivityratherthan agriculture.
It was also apparentthatthegripwas ornamented precisely likethelocal paddle
handle,and it graduallybecamecustomary to referto thepuzzlingartifacts as
a "kindof paddle"or evenas a "rudder,"althoughit was ratherobviousthatin
practicetheycouldhaveservedas neither.
The actualfunction of theseboardswas firstidentified byGretzer, and pub-
lishedby himin 1914 in his littleknownpaper"Die Schiffahrt im altenPeru
vor der Entdeckung."4 Gretzerpointedout thatthe boardsin questionwere
neither ruddersnorpaddles,butguaras,a specialkindof center-board or sword
used by thewestcoastaborigines forsteering theirsea-going rafts.Beyondthis
identification,Gretzerwentno farther inhisdiscussion of guaranavigation, which
wasa highly specialized sailingtechnique.
The first comprehensive studyof marinearchitecture in earlyPeruwasaccom-
plishedbyLothropandpublished byhimin 1932in a paperon "Aboriginal Navi-
gation off the West Coast of South America."5Lothrophappened be as to
4 W. Gretzer, imaltenPeruvorderEntdeckung
Die Schiffahrt derRoemer-
(Mitteilungen
Museum, no.24,Hannover,
Hildesheim, 1914).
5 S. K. Lothrop,
Aboriginal
NavigationofftheWestCoastof SouthAmerica(Journal,
RoyalAnthropological vol.42, 1932).
Institute,

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 GUARA NAVIGATION 137

prominent an authority on sailingtechnique andmarine matters as in hisown

ofarchaeology,
field andlikeGretzer heidentifiedthesaidcarved boards as center-
boardsorguarasofthetypewhich wasstillinuseonthecoastofEcuadoruntil
quiterecenthistoric time.Lothrop, however, wasableto go farther. He realized
thata center-board orguard,unlikethepaddle,is onlya dependent component
ina complex pattern ofnavigation, andthat,in itself, it is nota toolthatcan
accomplish anymaneuvering of a water-craft. He says:"It is obviousthata
center-boardis uselessunlessa vesselhassails."The sailis indeedthenecessary
complimentary factorofthecenter-board, andwhereas theformer maybe used
withoutthelatter, thereverse cannevertakeplace.As a contrast to a rudder or
a steering-oar,
theguaraispurely a sailing tool,whollyuseless onany water-craft
propelledbyoarsor paddles.The richarchaeological occurrence of guarasin
Incaandpre-Inca desert burialsonthecoastofPeruis thusconclusive evidence
ofthepre-Columbian useofsailofftheAndean shores.
This,in itself,warrants a further investigationof theguara,a pre-Spanish
artifact
thatoncemusthavebeenhighly important intheeconomy ofthecoastal
population.Howmuchfreedom ofmovement wouldtheguarayieldtotheearly
localnavigators?
Thereisnowantofearlyhistoric records ofthesailas indigenous totheInca
empire."This is vouchedforbychroniclers likeSaamanos, Xeres,Andagoya,
Oviedo,Zarate,Las Casas,Balboa,Sarmiento de Gamboa, IncaGarcilasso, Ben-
zoni,Cobo,etc.,all ofwhom notonlyspeakoftheIncamariners navigatingtheir
oceanwithbalsarafts, butthey all concur inrecordingthatproper sailswerepart
oftheaboriginal equipment.'
In myprevious paperinthisjournalwasmentioned howtheaboriginal Inca
6 In a recentpaperin thisjournal(Vol. 12, pp. 154-156,1956) S. Rydenproposes the
viewthatthesail was introduced to PerufromtheWhitesthrough tradebetween
reciprocal
theIndians.He offers
nodocumentation forthisrather indefensibleclaim,nordidhe do so when
he someyearsago (Gothenburg HandelsTidning, Dec. 24, 1949) wrotethatbalsa-rafts were
neverusedbythecoastalIndiansof Peru.In thesamearticle he suggestedtoothatthecoast
Indiansmight havelearnt theuseofcenter-boards fromtheWhites.The infelicity ofthisstate-
ment,whichcompletely neglectschronology,willappearfromthesequelof thepresent paper.
Ryd6nhas a farbetter
In contrast, casewhenhe suggests thatthecontainer of Uhle'sfoetus
burialfromAricawaswrongly interpretedbythelatteras a miniature boatwithsail.It was
perhapsa casualresemblance.Butwhenhe goeson to proposethatthewell-known miniature
woodenraftsof ancient Aricaare modelsof inflated sealskinvessels,thenhe is againastray.
Thesesmallandrather uniform wooden rafts,oneofwhich is inmyownpossession, arein every
detailmodelsof thethree-log Likethelattertheyarecomposed
"caballito." of threelongand
veryslenderpiecesoflightwood,thelongest in themiddle, closelyunitedwithlashingsin deep
groovesaroundthelogs;whereas theinflatedsealskinvessels consistof twopontoons heldapart
withtransversal
plow-shape, The three-log
sticks. "caballito"wasridden byonemanand,
astride
ofcourse,neverusedsail.
7 Heyerdahl,American IndiansinthePacific, pp. 517-533, 559,560.

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138 SOUTHWESTERN JOURNALOF ANTHROPOLOGY

"sail" and deep-seanavigationwas describedto Balboa by nativesin Panama

beforeanySpaniardhad yetreachedthePacificOcean.Next,on thefirstsouth-
wardpushtowardsPeru'sdiscovery, Pizarro'sown pilotcaptureda largeInca
raftwithexcellent rigging and "cotton sails" (plural) navigating northwards off
Ecuador.A littlefarther in
south, GuayaquilBay, the same discoverersoverhauled
fivesailingbalsasin twodays,and whenfirstentering the portof Tumbezin
Perutheyencountered a wholeflotilla ofInca raftsstanding outintothesea.
We learnthattheseaboriginal sailing balsas could movefreely backand forth
between givendestinations, likeanyothercontemporary sailingships,and yetwe
knowthattheyweremereraftswithouta keel.Recordsfromthe timeof the
Conquestspeakof nativeInca sailorswhowerecompelledto navigatetheopen
sea withSpanishhorsesand cavalryin heavyarmoraboardtheirrafts;others
speakof earlierexploring expeditions to far-off oceanicislands,etc.; and again
we havetheaforesaidinstanceof theInca raftboundforColombiaor Panama
withwomenand thirty tonsof valuablemerchandise on board.Was all thispos-
siblewithmerepaddlesin thefierce and treacherous Humboldtand Panamacur-
rents?Certainly not.And is it possibleto sail a flat-bottomed raftto a givendes-
tination withtheaid onlyof a steering-oar? not.
Certainly Anyplainsailing-raft
without a keelwillmerely drifthelplessly withthewind,sideways or lengthwise,
irrespective of the courseattempted witha steering-oar. Thus, even without
further information,we are led to suspectthatthe Inca sailorshad something
pusheddownbetweenthelogs of theirraftsto enablethemto keepa forward
course.In 1619 theDutch admiralSpilbergen had hiswholefleetsuppliedwith
driedfishfroma nativesailingbalsa at Payta,Peru,and we learnthattheraft
hadbeenoutfishing fortwomonths. The mostdangerous upwellingsand currents
of the entirePeruviancoastare locatedoffPayta harbor,120 milessouthof
Tumbez;andwemaywellwonder howa flat-bottomed raftcouldreturn toitsown
port after sucha long-lasting trip.Spilbergen has no comment on this remark-
able rafttechnique, and yethis own crudebut interesting drawingof the raft
suffices to verifyoursuspicion.s The rafthas neither ruddernorsteering-oar, but
twocloakedIndiansare standingbythesails issuingordersto threeotherswho
aresquatting on theraft'sdeck,eachmaneuvering a guarathrust downvertically
in thecracksbetween thelogs.
It is hereimportant to realizethattheuse of center-boards wasnotyetknown
to DutchorSpanishsailors,noras a matter of factto othercontemporary visitors
fromabroad.At thistimenothingbut plainlee-boards was knownin Europe.
Spilbergentherefore, althoughleavingforposterity an interestingdrawingof
8 J. van Spilbergen,Speculum OrientalisOccidentalisque IndiheNavigation,1614-18
(Leiden,1619).

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SOUTHWESTERN JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGY: VOL. 13

~ ~ cr~c

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Guaras FROM ICA, PERU

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 GUARANAVIGATION 139

center-board refrained
navigation, fromanycomment beyondthe factthatthe
raftand sails"wereverywonderfullymade."
It was notuntil1748thattwoSpanishnavalofficers,Juanand Ulloa, made
thefirst of
study guaranavigation and thesecrets
behind themaneuveringof the
balsa rafts.Aftergivingan excellentdescriptionof the raft'sconstruction,
measures,carrying andthecustomof bringing
capacity, wholefamiliesonseasonal
the theauthorsadd:'
fishing
expeditionsalong coast,
Hitherto we haveonlymentioned theconstruction and theusestheyare applied
to; butthegreatest of thisfloating
singularity vehicleis thatitsails,tacksandworks
as wellin contrary windsas shipswitha keel,and makesverylittleleeway.This
advantage it derives fromanother method of steeringthanbya rudder;namely, by
someboards, threeorfouryardsin length, andhalfa yardinbreadth, calledguaras,
whichareplacedvertically, bothat theheadandsternbetween themainbeams,and
by thrusting someof thesedeepin thewater,and raisingothers, theybearaway,
luffup,tack,layto,andperform all theothermotions ofa regular ship.An invention
hithertounknown to the mostintelligent nationsof Europe..... . [Also] . .. a
guarabeingshoveddownin thefore-part of thevesselmustmakeherluffup; and
bytaking itout,shewillbearawayorfalloff.Likewise ona guara'sbeingshoved down
at thestern, shewillbearaway,andbytakingitoutof thewater, thebalsawillluff,
or keepnearerto thewind.Suchis themethod usedbytheIndiansin steering the
balsas,andsometimes theyuse fiveof six to
guaras, prevent the balsa from making
leeway,it beingevident thatthemoretheyare underwater,thegreater resistance
thesideof thevesselmeetswith,theguarasperforming theoffice used
of lee-boards
in smallvessels.The methodof steering by these guaras is so easyand that
simple,
whenoncethebalsais putin herpropercourse, oneonlyis madeuse of,raising or
lowering it as occasions and thusthebalsais alwayskept'inherintended
require,
direction.

In the same publicationthe authorsmade the firsteffort to introducethe

peculiarmethod of guaraor center-board to
navigation contemporary Europe, but
withno success.When Lescallierin 1791 publishedhis instruction forFrench
navalcadets'oand whenCharnockin 1801wrotehishistory of marinearchitec-
ture11 theycould still
onlyquote Juan and Ulloa and confirmthatguara-steering
was a methodpeculiarto thesaid Indiansand not yetknownin Europe.Not
madevigorous
least,Lescallier attemptstointroducethissailingmethod to Europe,
witha special viewto improving rafts
lifesaving bymaking them navigableat sea.
9 G. JuanandA. de Ulloa,Relacion del viaiea la America
historica Meridional (Madrid,
1748),vol.1,p. 264.
Traitepratiquedu greement
10 M. Lescallier, des vaisseaux et autresbatimens du mer
(Paris,1791),vol.1,pp. 458-463.
11 J.Charnock, A HistoryofMarineArchitecture
(London, 1801),vol.1,p. 12.

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140 SOUTHWESTERN JOURNALOF ANTHROPOLOGY

Humboldtl2andStevenson
13couldalsoonlyrefer
toPeruvian as a
center-boards
remarkable curiosity
peculiar tothelocalaboriginals,
andthelatter sawbalsarafts
inPeruwhich, merely bytheuseofguaras, were"beating upagainst thewindand
current" forhundreds ofmiles,with25or30tonsofcargo.
The guarawasstillan important culture
element peculiar tothecoastalmer-
chants andfishermen inEcuador andnorthernPeruwhenParisvisited Guayaquil
Baybefore hepublished hisessayonnon-European navalconstructions towards
themiddle ofthelastcentury.14 He describedtheguarasandpublished an excel-
lenttechnicaldrawing of theirarrangementon boardtheraft.He agreedthat
theypermitted theraftsto luffandgo about,buthehadno opportunity tosee
themtacking againstthewind,although he added:"The raftshaveno other
methods forsteering on theocean.. . ." It was aboutthistimeSkogman'5
recorded thatbalsaraftswerevisiting theoceanicGalapagos Islands,navigating
thePacificwithguaraspusheddownthrough slotsbetween thelogs.Our own
archaeologicalsurvey of theGalapagosIslandsproduced sufficientevidence to
theeffect thatthisremote was
group repeatedly visitedbyaboriginal mariners
from widely separated areasonthemainland, at leastsinceCoastalTiahuanaco
time.16 Suchvisits
couldnothavebeeneffected without thefreedom allowed by
guaranavigation.
Towards theendoflastcentury, withtherapidprogress ofmodem accultura-
balsa
tion, raftsand center-board started
navigation todisappear from thePacific
coastof PeruandEcuador.In thesamerecent period, or about1870,thefirst
center-boardsweremadeuseof on European water-craft,andit hasevenbeen
questioned whetherthismodem "invention"wasmadeinEngland ortheUnited
States."The original method,thatpermits directnavigation of rafts,is stillso
obscure tomodern mariners thatlife-rafts
ofall nationsinourdayareleftdrift-
inghelplesslyat themercy ofwindandcurrent. The firstEuropean attempt of
guaranavigation ona raftwasmadebytheKon-Tiki expedition in 1947.At our
departure,navigation maintained
experts thattheguaras, at thevery best,would
actas lee-boards
enabling theraft tocuta forward course.It was found, however,
12 A. de Humboldt, VuesdesCordilleres, etmonuments despeuples de l'Ameri-
indigenes
que (Paris,1810),p. 295.
13 W. B. Stevenson, A Historical and Descriptive
Narrativeof Twenty Years'Residence
inSouthAmerica (London, 1825),vol.2, p. 224.
14 F. E. Paris,Essaisurla construction
navaledespeuplesExtra-Europeens
(Paris,1841-43),
p. 148.
15 C. Skogman, Fregatten Eugenies Resa Omkring Jorden Aren1851-1853(Stockholm,
1855),p. 164.
16 T. Heyerdahl andA. Skjalsvold, Evidence
Archaeological Visitsto the
of Pre-Spanish
Galdpagos Islands(Memoir, SocietyforAmerican no.12,1956).
Archaeology,
17 Lothrop, op.cit.,p. 237.

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 GUARA NAVIGATION 141

A2) 3)
0 Adjusted 0
Sail Upwards~

4) 6)
5)

ad

ownwaws
0
o Mo D bossn D

ard
Upw ds

3/) 2) 3)

Up

Adjuste0 Adjusted 0 Downwn

4) 5) 6)

Sbownwards

(
? ownward 0

Sail
\AIturned < 4'p
fU 0 Raft 0
turned
UpvWards

/ /
of guarasandsailto turntheraftintothewind;B: Adjustment
FIG.1. A: Adjustments
fortacking.

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142 SOUTHWESTERN JOURNALOF ANTHROPOLOGY

duringthevoyage,thattheraisingor lowering of guarasforeor aft wouldin-

stantly make the raftfall offor bear to,whereas all attempts to turnaboutand
tacktheraftintothewindfailedcompletely. Upon arrival in Polynesia,theraft's
moderncrewtherefore yielded to thegenerally held claim that balsa rafts,like
any other flat-bottomed could
vessel, only be sailedat certain anglesin the general
directionof a followingwind.
The problemwas,however, revivedby thepresent authorin 1953,as he was
led to suspectisthatthefailurein tackingwas probably due to theinexperience
of theraft'screwrather thanto limitationsin theaboriginal Peruviansailingtech-
nique. An experiment by balsa raftoff the at
coast Playas,in Ecuador,enabled
Mr EmilioEstrada,Dr ErikK. Reed,Mr ArneSkjjlsvoldand thewriter to redis-
covertheremarkable technique ofguaranavigation.'9 A correct interplay between
thehandlingof sail and guaraswas required.The yardof thesquaresail had
to be hoistedso nearto thejunctureof thebipodmastthatit couldbe swung
freelyfromone side to theother.It was theratioof submerged guara surface
respectivelybeforeand behindthemastthatwouldsettheraftsteadily in a given
course.To jib, theguarasin thebowwereraiseduntilthebow fellsharplyoff,
and we followedafterwiththesail by swinging theyardaroundthestarboard
mast(seeFig. 1A). The verymoment whenthewindcouldno longerfillthesail,
timewas ripeto swingtheyardback and aroundtheportmast,whilethe bow
guaraswerepushedbackdownand thesternguaraswerelifted.In thiswaythe
raftcontinued to turnbeyondninetydegreesto thewind,and whenthedesired
angleagainst winddirection
the had beenobtained, thestemguaraswerequickly
loweredagainand regulated to createequabilium, whereby theraftsteadilycon-
tinuedin thenewcourseat a diagonalagainstthewind.If desiredtheraftcould
nowstarttacking(see Fig. 1 B). This was donebyraisingthestemguaraswhile
thesail was keptfullas longas possible.The raftthereby turneddirectly into
thewind,and theverymoment whenthedirection deadintothewindwasreached,
thesail was swungto theopposite(starboard)sideand simultaneously thestern
guaraswereloweredand thosein thebowraised.As soonas thesail was filled,
thebowguaras,too,werelowered,andthesternboards adjusteduntiltherequired
course the
against head windwas reached
and In
fixed. this
manner itwaspossible
totacktheraftintothewind,
as sharply
as a 16thcenturyEuropean vessel,
sailing
andyetwithout applyinganysteeringmechanism known to ourownancestry.
Withoutthecustomary techniqueofturning a rudder ora steering-oar,
onlyby
18 Heyerdahl, American
IndiansinthePacific,
p. 606.
19 T. Heyerdahl,En GjenoppdagetInka-kunst:Guara-metodensomlar flaterkrysseog
jibbeutenrorellerstyre-are
(Teknisk
Ukeblad,no.48, pp. 1039-1044,
Oslo,1954);E. Estrada,
BalsaandDugoutNavigation inEcuador(American Neptune,vol.15,no.2, Salem,1955).

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 GUARA NAVIGATION 143

adjustingthedepth ofguarasandthereby theratiooftheleeway

altering stability
foreandaft,theaboriginalbalsaraftwithitsbipodmastandsquaresailcanset
itscoursewiththewindtoanygivendestination and,withthelimitations
ofany
othersailingvessel, back
struggle tohome port.
The invention ofguaranavigation,
anditsextensive onthecoastof
practice
Peruas fardownas ParacasandIca inpre-Inca is
time, oneof themostremark-
ablefeatures of theAndeanseaboard We havein thefrequent
dwellers. local
occurrenceofarchaeological
guaras, or
plain ornamented, onemore outstanding
example of theingenuityandhighcultural standingof thepopulationon the
coast
Pacific ofancient Peru.
OSLO, NORWAY

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