A full-size balsa-wood raft just like those used in pre-Columbian Pacific trade took to the Charles River on Sunday, May 10. Students in 3.094, Materials in the Human Experience, used no modern materials to build the raft which is constructed from balsa logs imported from Ecuador. The replica was based on an analysis carried out by Prof. Hosler and her former student Leslie Dewan ‘06, which was published last year in the Journal of Anthropological Research.

Learn more about the project and see a photo gallery at the MIT News Office.