Wookiees!
As for the ships, I dunno... that battle is only occurring like what, a generation before the OT? I would fully expect to see the technology and ships shown in the OT to be shown in earlier stages of development in the prequels, especially ships that were destined to become staple ships in the fleet. It seems like a little bit of attention to realistic detail. Our own technology just did not pop out of thin air in one generation, it has been refined and updated over time... like cars, airplanes, aircraft carriers...