On the Ocean

For humans the sea is, and always has been, an alien environment. Ever moving and ever changing in mood, it is a place without time, in contrast to the land which is fixed and scarred by human activity giving it a visible history. While the land is familiar, even reassuring, the sea is unknown and threatening. By taking to the sea humans put themselves at its mercy. It has often been perceived to be an alien power teasing and cajoling. The sea may give but it takes.

Why, then, did humans become seafarers? Part of the answer is that we are conditioned by our genetics to be acquisitive animals: we like to acquire rare materials and we are eager for esoteric knowledge, and society rewards us well for both. Looking out to sea most will be curious as to what is out there--a mysterious island perhaps but what lies beyond? Our innate inquisitiveness drives us to explore.

Barry Cunliffe looks at the development of seafaring on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, two contrasting seas-- the Mediterranean without a significant tide, enclosed and soon to become familiar, the Atlantic with its frightening tidal ranges, an ocean without end. We begin with the Middle Palaeolithic hunter gatherers in the eastern Mediterranean building simple vessels to make their remarkable crossing to Crete and we end in the early years of the sixteenth century with sailors from Spain, Portugal and England establishing the limits of the ocean from Labrador to Patagonia. The message is that the contest between humans and the sea has been a driving force, perhaps the driving force, in human history.

Barry Cunliffe looks at the development of seafaring on the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, two contrasting seas; the Mediterranean without a significant tide, enclosed and soon to become familiar, the Atlantic with its frightening tidal ranges, an ocean without end. We begin with the Middle Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers in the eastern Mediterranean building simple vessels to make their remarkable crossing to Crete and we end in the early years of the sixteenth century with sailors from Spain, Portugal and England establishing the limits of the ocean from Labrador to Patagonia. The message is that the contest between humans and the sea has been a driving force, perhaps the driving force, in human history.

"This beguiling, thought-provoking, sumptuously illustrated, and engaging book is essential reading." --Current World Archaeology

"'On the Ocean' is a magnificent book, being carefully crafted and requiring all of Barry Cunliffe's encyclopaedic knowledge. The image portrayed, through multilateral means, offers a coherent narrative that can be followed through different times and spaces, offering both the overall view and the detailed developments. Stefan Vasilache, Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology No. 4.4

"On the Ocean is a book all nautical (and terrestrial) archaeologists should read... It provides a comprehensive overview from a seafaring perspective of the Mediterranean and Atlantic from the beginnings of humankind's voyaging in these waters to the discovery of the Americas." -- Colin Martin (University of St Andrews), The International Journal of Nautical Archaeology

"This is a stunning work, handsome and massive, its author a distinguished and prolific archaeologist. The maps offer a 'sea-wise view of the world, ' and their unconventional projections bring readers more deeply into the narrative, which is enhanced by numerous color photographs....[T]hose with a serious interest in the subject will find this splendid, challenging book immensely rewarding....Essential."--J. C. Perry, CHOICE

"The book adopts a familiar format to Cunliffe's other recent volumes and supplies everything we have come to expect. It is hugely ambitious in scope, fluently written and beautifully illustrated with panoramic photographs of landscapes and monuments, plus trademark mapping... In betwe en, the narrative takes in deep geological history, the nature of winds, tides and currents, the night sky, the peopling of islands and coastal areas and details of ship- and boat-building technology." -- Robert Witcher, Antiquity Reviews, December 2017

"An absorbing and lively account of the early Atlantic and Mediterranean. Importantly, it reflects the latest research and delves deeply into the motives of those who sailed them: not just where and how they travelled, but what fears these seas evoked."--History Today

"A grand and beautifully illustrated work, offering a fascinating perspective from which to understand human development and achievement."--Michael Scott, BBC History Magazine

"[T]he total effect of On the Ocean is to encourage a new way of looking at European history using a maritime perspective. I hope it changes the way people think: it is good enough to do so."--Felipe Fern�ndez-Armesto, Literary Review

"This is a stunning work, handsome and massive, its author a distinguished and prolific archaeologist... Those with a serious interest in the subject will find this splendid, challenging book immensely rewarding."--CHOICE Reviews