It seems more likely that the invention of the sailing vessel
belongs to a period when civilization was far advanced.
Yet this period was very ancient.
Up to this point, in making out how the simpler kinds of
boats came into existence, history gives no help. Not only
does their origin mostly lie beyond record, but by the time
we come fairly into history we find the ancient nations
knowing how to build vessels of more advanced order,
framed with keel and ribs, and sheathed with nailed
planks, in fact the direct predecessors of our own ships.
