Ancient canoe — over 4,500 years old — found in Great Lakes region. ‘Discovery expands’
CORRECTION: This story was updated on May 27, 2024, to reflect that the canoe was found in the Great Lakes region, not the Great Lakes.
The original story is below.
Archaeologists believe they found the oldest canoe in the Great Lakes area.
A 4,500-year-old canoe and eight others were found in a Wisconsin lake, the Wisconsin Historical Society announced on May 23.
The ancient canoe dates back to 2500 B.C. and was made of elm, archaeologists said in a news release.
“What we thought at first was an isolated discovery in Lake Mendota has evolved into a significant archaeological site with much to tell us about the people who lived and thrived in this area over thousands of years and also provides new evidence for major environmental shifts over time.”
The site previously identified two canoes in Lake Mendota in 2021 and 2022, archaeologists said. One was 1,200 years old and another was 3,000 years old.
The initial “groundbreaking” discovery led to follow up expeditions, the historical society said, and findings were analyzed with Native American nations in the area.
“Seeing these canoes with one’s own eyes is a powerful experience, and they serve as a physical representation of what we know from extensive oral traditions that Native scholars have passed down over generations,” Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation Bill Quackenbush said in a news release.
Archaeologists assume the canoes were stored in the water to prevent them from freezing and warping in the wintertime. Natural forces eventually buried the canoes, according to the news release.
“The Lake Mendota canoes are concentrated along roughly 800 feet of what was likely an ancient shoreline that became submerged over time as a result of environmental shifts in the region,” archaeologists said.
The Wisconsin Historical Society said these will be the last canoes recovered from this site since it has been weathered down over time. It’s in fragile condition due to long-term exposure to natural elements, boating wakes and water pollution, according to the society.
“Tribal Historic Preservation Officers... archaeologists determined that the additional canoes are not physically intact enough to withstand recovery by divers and then the process necessary to preserve the canoes,” according to the news release.
Lake Mendota is in Madison, Wisconsin.
This story was originally published May 24, 2024 at 2:24 PM with the headline "Ancient canoe — over 4,500 years old — found in Great Lakes region. ‘Discovery expands’."
