What Are The Oldest Boats On Record?

The oldest representations of boats known today come from the ancient Egyptians. They include pictures of the boat like papyrus raft, a mode of transportation that has survived into modern times. Today these rafts, paddled by hands and feet, can be seen on the Nile River as well as the bay of Lake Chad in Africa.
Another ancient method of plying the waterways appears on a relief from the Babylonian city of  Nineveh dating to about 700 before the Common Era. Passengers and goods were kept afloat by means of inflated animal skins. The counterpart of these Assyrian vessels can be seen today in Tibet. Another Tibetan boat consists of hides stretched over wooden ribs.
Perhaps one of the best known ancient boats is the hollowed-out tree trunk, known as the dugout. This, too, is still in use in parts of Africa, South America, Australia and remote districts of Scandinavia.