Construction and Uses of Canoes in the Amazon Basin during the 16 and 17 Centuries

This text analyzes, from a naval perspective, the chronicles of Gaspar de Carvajal (1542) and Cristóbal de Acuña (1637-1638) to investigate the construction and use of canoes in the Amazon basin in the 16th and 17th centuries. This research is part of a broad panorama of anthropological, archaeological, and historical studies of registration and analysis of traditional vessels in Colombia. A historic vision is proposed, identified as one of the great gaps within the academic literature. Additionally, the challenges and methodological obstacles for the study of nautical construction in the “colonial era” are discussed to pave the way for a detailed analysis of the texts of Carvajal and Acuña that reveal the uses and processes of canoe construction in this region.