Final answer:
Ancient Mesoamericans powered their boats through the use of oars for rowing and possibly sails for wind propulsion, leveraging natural resources and human physical power in the absence of engines. They used available materials and ingenuity to navigate effectively, similar to their accomplishments in agriculture and construction. Ancient Mesoamericans powered their boats without engines by using rowing and sailing techniques.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ancient Mesoamericans powered their boats without engines by relying on human physical power and the natural elements. To traverse water bodies, they primarily used oars to row their boats and likely employed sails to harness the wind when conditions were suitable, similar to the use of sails on Japanese haniwa boat models. In certain instances, they might have also used simple rafts to move between near islands or along coastlines. The lack of engines did not limit the expansion or trade as Mesoamericans innovated methods to utilize wind and manpower efficiently, as seen across various ancient civilizations.
Just like the sophisticated methods used for agriculture by the Aztecs with their chinampas or how societies like the Incas managed to thrive without wheeled transport or advanced metallurgy, Mesoamerican boat navigation is another testament to human ingenuity in leveraging available resources to meet their needs. Using materials like wood and reeds to construct vessels and taking advantage of the stability afforded by the engineering of natural materials, ancient civilizations were able to design, build, and navigate boats effectively without modern technology.