ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Pre-Columbian rafts

Pre-columbian rafts are boats that were used by people who lived in the Americas for thousands of years before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. These rafts were made by tying together long, narrow logs or reeds that floated on water. People would use these rafts to travel across rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Imagine you take four long sticks or logs and tie them together using ropes or vines. Then you add more sticks or logs until you have a big enough floating platform to stand on. That is how pre-columbian rafts were made.

The people who made these rafts were very skilled at working with natural materials from their environment. They used what they had around them to make functional boats that could carry people and goods across water. Some of these rafts were small and could only fit one or two people, while others were much larger and could fit entire families or communities.

These rafts were important for the people who used them because they allowed them to travel across bodies of water for fishing, hunting, and trading. They would also use these rafts to cross rivers and lakes to access new areas of land for farming and settlement.

In summary, pre-columbian rafts were boats made by tying together long sticks or logs that were used by people in the Americas for transportation and trade before the arrival of Christopher Columbus. These rafts were very important for these people in their everyday lives, and they were made using natural materials found in their environment.