An excavation was made in the southern part of the Korean peninsula, where archaeologists unearthed a fishing boat believed to be the world's oldest, dating back to 6,000 BCE. A fishing boat, presumed to be 8000 years old, has been dug out of the ground at Changnyeong County in South Gyeongsang Province. Archaeologists believe the boat, made of pine trees, is the oldest of its kind ever discovered in the world. The Gimhae National Museum has been digging in this area since November last year.
     Archaeologists were pleasantly surprised this June to discover a large quantity of earthenware decorated with animal drawings at the excavation site. Three more months into the digging and they unearthed the Neolithic fishing boat from layers of sediment two meters below the current sea-level. What remains of the boat is 3 meters long and 60 centimeters wide, whereas the original ship is thought to have been at least 4 meters long.
     Officials at the state museum said it was a miracle for a boat to be so carefully built during the Neolithic, an era in which ironware did not exist.

Source: Digital Chosunilbo (6 September 2005)