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History of Marine science - Coggle Diagram
History of Marine science
Introduction
Humans have been gathering info about the ocean for thousands of years
It used to be passed on by word of mouth but later documented
Earliest record about the ocean understanding herald from Southern African evidence found in middens of hunter gatherers called Strandlopers or beachcombers
Strandlopers camped in dunes in caves on escarpment overlooking sea
Strandlopers engaged with seashore and nearshore for over 150 000 years and ate range of marine life including fish, beached whales, sea birds and molluscs.
Molluscs where eaten and shells discarded in large piles and can be found in middens today.
Our best understanding of marine science
According to available records the Greek scholars seemed seemed to be the earliest written records of the ocean.
The Greek exposure to ocean was limited to Mediterranean sea, so much so that the North to South moving current in East Atlantic basin was thought to be an enormous river. Up until that time was believed currents could only flow in rivers. Greek scholars called the Atlantic Okeanos which means large river, the name from which ocean is derived.
Aristotle
Aristotle stands out as a example, he expressed that the ocean is the deepest part of the Earth and that the sun evaporates water from the sea which then condensed and rained back to Earth. Aristotle kept a record of marine organisms, different animal species, their distribution and habitats.
Eratosthenes
Made most phenomenal marine science calculation in about 200BC we calculated the Earths circumference to be 40 250 km long, today we know circumference is 40 067 km.
European explorer/ discoverer/navigator
Many humans quest developed into answering the question, what is beyond the horizon? For Europeans the discovery was a new place to find, but for indigenous people residing on those lands, including their ancestors who had lived on that place for thousands of years that was home
As the designs and efficiencies of seagoing vessels improved, sea navigators could travel further from home ports Navigable crafts ranged from rafts to the enormous Chinese Ming Dynasty sailing vessels, Zheng He (139m long) compared to largest of Columbus's ships the Santa Maria (21.3m long)
Such seafarers and navigators included Phoenicians, Greeks, Vikings, Polynesians and the Chinese
Greek period of inquiry where followed by the dark ages during which many archives, libraries and records of the Western enlightened age where damaged and destroyed
After dark ages it was European navigators who where collectors of ocean information. After return from voyages, seafarers relayed information and subsequent sea-goers would make efforts to travel further and document longer journeys to discover more for Europeans.
These European seafarers returned to Europe with information and resources and people with whom trading could take place
Exploration included the search for newly discovered, resource rich territories to colonise.