每日跟讀#631: Aboriginal canoe sets out on voyage to Japan for research

An Aboriginal Amis canoe is set to sail from Taiwan’s Taitung County to Japan’s Yonaguni Island some time between Monday and July 13. Organized by Taiwan’s National Museum of Prehistory and Japan’s National Museum of Nature and Science (NMNS), the voyage is part of the NMNS’ research on people’s movement from Taiwan to Japan in ancient times.

一艘原住民阿美族的獨木舟，預計在週一至七月十三日間，從台灣的台東縣航向日本的與那國島。該活動是由國立台灣史前文化博物館，及日本的國立科學博物館合辦，此航行是科博館研究的一部分，旨在探討古代人們從台灣到日本的遷徙活動。

According to archaeologists, some of the early inhabitants of Japan most likely traveled from Taiwan to the Ryukyu Islands on similar wooden vessels during the Paleolithic, about 30,000 years ago. The canoe will have to cross the Kuroshio Current (the Black Current) and travel around 205km to Yonaguni Island, Japan’s westernmost island in Okinawa Prefecture.

根據考古學家們指出，日本的某些早期居民，極有可能是搭乘著類似的木筏，自台灣來到沖繩列島，當時大約是距今三萬年的舊石器時代。這艘獨木舟必須跨越「黑潮」洋流，航行約兩百零五公里至沖繩縣、位於全日本最西端的與那國島。

The research team failed to complete a voyage on an Amis bamboo raft last year and the year before that, because the boats used were not strong enough for the big waves. This time around, a canoe made of cedar will be used in the adventure, which is expected to take 2 to 3 days.

研究團隊去年、前年均嘗試以阿美族竹筏渡海，但因竹筏不夠堅固無法抵擋大浪沖擊，最終挑戰失敗。本次冒險則改用以雪松打造的獨木舟，預計需二到三天才能完成整趟航程。

Source article: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/lang/archives/2019/06/20/2003717213