Editing Anchor (section)

=== Evolution of the anchor ===
{{Main|History of the anchor}}
[[File:Anchor types.jpg|thumb|upright=2|left|Anchors come in a wide variety of shapes, types, and sizes for different conditions, functions and vessels.]]

The earliest anchors were probably rocks, and many rock anchors have been found dating from at least the [[Bronze Age]].<ref>Johnstone, Paul and McGrail, Seán (1989). ''The sea-craft of prehistory''. London: Routledge. {{ISBN|978-0-415-02635-2}}, p.82.</ref> Pre-European Māori waka (canoes) used one or more hollowed stones, tied with flax ropes, as anchors. Many modern moorings still rely on a large rock as the primary element of their design.  However, using pure weight to resist the forces of a storm works well only as a permanent mooring; a large enough rock would be nearly impossible to move to a new location.

The ancient Greeks used baskets of stones, large sacks filled with sand, and wooden logs filled with lead. According to [[Apollonius of Rhodes|Apollonius Rhodius]] and [[Stephanus of Byzantium|Stephen of Byzantium]], anchors were formed of stone, and Athenaeus states that they were also sometimes made of wood. Such anchors held the vessel merely by their weight and by their friction along the bottom.{{cn|date=June 2023}}{{clarify|How a wood anchor would hold. Most wood floats, and even dense wood has very little negative buoyancy and would be ineffective without some ballast weight|date=June 2023}}