Jack Linthicum
Guest
|
 Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:51 pm Post subject: The Real Robinson Crusoe – Evidence Of Alexander S elkirk’s |
 |
|
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/
081029105803.htm
The Real Robinson Crusoe – Evidence Of Alexander Selkirk’s Desert
Island Campsite
enlarge
A scene from Robinson Crusoe, showing Crusoe and Man Friday. (Credit:
iStockphoto/Duncan Walker)
ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2008) — Cast away on a desert island, surviving
on what nature alone can provide, praying for rescue but fearing the
sight of a boat on the horizon. These are the imaginative creations of
Daniel Defoe in his famous novel Robinson Crusoe. Yet the story is
believed to be based on the real-life experience of sailor Alexander
Selkirk, marooned in 1704 on a small tropical island in the Pacific
for more than four years, and now archaeological evidence has been
found to support contemporary records of his existence on the island.
An article in the journal Post-Medieval Archaeology presents evidence
from an archaeological dig on the island of Aguas Buenas, since
renamed Robinson Crusoe Island, which reveals evidence of the campsite
of an early European occupant. The most compelling evidence is the
discovery of a pair of navigational dividers which could only have
belonged to a ship’s master or navigator, as evidence suggests Selkirk
must have been. Indeed Selkirk’s rescuer, Captain Woodes Rogers’
account of what he saw on arrival at Aguas Buenas in 1709 lists ‘some
practical pieces’ and mathematical instruments amongst the few
possessions that Selkirk had taken with him from the ship.
The finds also provide an insight into exactly how Selkirk might have
lived on the island. Postholes suggest he built two shelters near to a
freshwater stream, and had access to a viewpoint over the harbour from
where he would be able to watch for approaching ships and ascertain
whether they were friend or foe. Accounts written shortly after his
rescue describe him shooting goats with a gun rescued from the ship,
and eventually learning to outrun them, eating their meat and using
their skins as clothing. He also passed time reading the Bible and
singing psalms, and seems to have enjoyed a more peaceful and devout
existence than at any other time in his life.
David H Caldwell, National Museums Scotland, is pleased with the
results of the dig: “The evidence uncovered at Aguas Buenas
corroborates the stories of Alexander Selkirk’s stay on the island and
provides a fascinating insight into his existence there. We hope that
Aguas Buenas, with careful management, may be a site enjoyed by the
increasing number of tourists searching for the inspiration behind
Defoe’s masterpiece.”
Alexander Selkirk was born in the small seaside town of Lower Largo,
Fife, Scotland in 1676. A younger son of a shoemaker, he was drawn to
a life at sea from an early age. In 1704, during a privateering voyage
on the Cinque Ports, Selkirk fell out with the commander over the
boat’s seaworthiness and he decided to remain behind on Robinson
Crusoe Island where they had landed to overhaul the worm-infested
vessel. He cannot have known that it would be five years before he was
picked up by an English ship visiting the island.
Published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is one of the oldest and most
famous adventure stories in English literature. Whilst it is unclear
whether Defoe and Selkirk actually met, Defoe would certainly have
heard the stories of Selkirk’s adventure and used the tales as the
basis for his novel.
Journal reference:
1. Takahashi et al. Excavation at Aguas Buenas, Robinson Crusoe
Island, Chile, of a gunpowder magazine and the supposed campsite of
Alexander Selkirk, together with an account of early navigational
dividers. Post-Medieval Archaeology, 2007; 41 (2): 270 DOI:
10.1179/174581307X236157
Adapted from materials provided by Maney Publishing, via AlphaGalileo.
and
Excavation at Aguas Buenas, Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile, of a
gunpowder magazine and the supposed campsite of Alexander Selkirk,
together with an account of early navigational dividers
Authors: Takahashi, Daisuke; Caldwell, David H.; Cáceres, Iván;
Calderón, Mauricio; Morrison-Low, A.D.; Saavedra, Miguel A.; Tate, Jim
Source: Post-Medieval Archaeology, Volume 41, Number 2, December
2007 , pp. 270-304(35)
Publisher: Maney Publishing
Abstract:
Excavations were undertaken of a ruined building at Aguas Buenas,
identified as an 18th-century Spanish gunpowder magazine. Evidence was
also found for the campsite of an early European occupant of the
island. A case is made that this was Alexander Selkirk, a castaway
here from 1704 to 1709. Selkirk was the model for Defoe>s Robinson
Crusoe. A detailed discussion is given of a fragment of copper alloy
identified as being from a pair of navigational dividers.
Document Type: Research article
DOI: 10.1179/174581307X236157
The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will
be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.
$36.00 plus tax |
|
benlizro@ihug.co.nz
Guest
|
| Posted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:25 pm Post subject: Re: The Real Robinson Crusoe – Evidence Of Alexand er Selkir |
|
|
On Oct 30, 7:51 am, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthi...@earthlink.net>
wrote:
[quote]http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/
081029105803.htm
The Real Robinson Crusoe – Evidence Of Alexander Selkirk’s Desert
Island Campsite
enlarge
A scene from Robinson Crusoe, showing Crusoe and Man Friday. (Credit:
iStockphoto/Duncan Walker)
ScienceDaily (Oct. 29, 2008) — Cast away on a desert island, surviving
on what nature alone can provide, praying for rescue but fearing the
sight of a boat on the horizon. These are the imaginative creations of
Daniel Defoe in his famous novel Robinson Crusoe. Yet the story is
believed to be based on the real-life experience of sailor Alexander
Selkirk, marooned in 1704 on a small tropical island in the Pacific
for more than four years, and now archaeological evidence has been
found to support contemporary records of his existence on the island.
An article in the journal Post-Medieval Archaeology presents evidence
from an archaeological dig on the island of Aguas Buenas, since
renamed Robinson Crusoe Island,
[/quote]
....not exactly. The island was previously known as Mas Atierra, until
renamed by the Chilean government in 1966. Aguas Buenas is the
locality of the site.
Ross Clark |
|
Whiskers
Guest
|
| Posted: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:07 am Post subject: Re: The Real Robinson Crusoe – Evidence Of Alexander Selki |
|
|
On 2008-10-29, Jack Linthicum <jacklinthicum@earthlink.net> wrote:
[...]
[quote]Alexander Selkirk was born in the small seaside town of Lower Largo,
Fife, Scotland in 1676. A younger son of a shoemaker, he was drawn to
a life at sea from an early age. In 1704, during a privateering voyage
on the Cinque Ports, Selkirk fell out with the commander over the
boat’s seaworthiness and he decided to remain behind on Robinson
Crusoe Island where they had landed to overhaul the worm-infested
vessel. He cannot have known that it would be five years before he was
picked up by an English ship visiting the island.
[/quote]
[...]
They were /way/ off course if they were meant to be raiding the Cinque
Ports (which are in England) and found themselves in the south Pacific!
Oh, wait, the /ship/ was /called/ "Cinque Ports" and was an English
privateer. That makes a lot more sense :))
<http://www.essortment.com/all/alexanderselkir_rehj.htm>.
--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~ |
|
