ABSTRACT
Humans have been traversing the world's oceans for at least 50,000 years. For archaeologists interested in prehistoric seafaring, computer simulation has proven a useful method for investigating the challenges and strategies used in the past. However, a number of barriers have inhibited wider adoption of the simulation approach. We present a prototype for a flexible voyaging simulation to model prehistoric seafaring. Combining freeware technologies in GIS, statistics, and agent-based modelling with open source datasets, our simulation is capable of testing hypotheses ranging from drift to directed voyaging across the globe, at comparable or higher resolution than previous studies. A case study from the Pacific is offered which demonstrates some of the capabilities of the system. In time, we hope to introduce this as a tool for researchers worldwide to explore questions of prehistoric oceanic voyaging.
