Sailing to Ryukyu

How do you test how people reached Okinawa more than 30,000 years ago? Build a log boat using only Paleolithic stone tools, then paddle it from Taiwan to the Ryukyu Islands. This week, we talk to Prof. Yousuke Kaifu about the extraordinary project he led to explore how prehistoric people could have made a voyage that, even today, seems improbable. It’s a fascinating discussion about their trials-and-errors to build a boat that could handle the open ocean and their journey to cross one of the ...