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Archaeologists are discovering dug-out canoes in the U.S. Midwest that are thousands of years old, revealing a historical connection to the era of the great Egyptian pyramids.
Tamara Thomsen was approximately 7 meters deep No. Lake Mendota, in Wisconsin, United States, when she spotted the tip of a canoe in decomposition, fascinating American archaeologists. The strange object, carved from white oak, was more than 1.200 years old.
This discovery, which occurred on an ordinary diving day in 2021, opened doors to an archaeological treasure that would change how we understand the indigenous past in U.S.
The maritime archaeologist wasn't looking for canoes. Her work usually involves shipwrecks on the Great Lakes, such as freighters from the nineteenth century.
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But your knowledge of dugout canoes — one of the oldest types of vessels in the world — was crucial to identifying the finding.
This experience was acquired in 2018, when he partnered with Sissel Schroeder, an archaeologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in a project to catalog the excavated canoes existing in the American state.
Initially, researchers believed there were only 11 in local collections, but after a year of research, that number had risen to 34.
Thomsen's discovery led to the creation of the Wisconsin Dugout Canoe Survey Project, which has so far documented 79 canoes, including two of the oldest in eastern North America, dating back 4.000 and 5.000 years.
This catalogue is more than an archaeological record; it reveals the travel, trade and environmental adaptation habits of indigenous communities.
Archaeologists reaffirm the importance of Dejope
Dean Witter/Wisconsin Historical Society
The Madison region, known as Dejope in the tongue Ho-Chunk, was an indigenous metropolis before the arrival of the Europeans. According to Bill Quackenbush, tribal historic preservation officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation, Dejope was an interconnected community, far from the misconception of temporary camps.
Carving canoes was a community activity: men worked on logs while the rest of the families gathered to prepare for the next season.
The carving process was complex, could take months, and was vital for survival. Canoes opened up trade networks, allowed deep-sea fishing, and made long-distance travel possible.
This connection to land and water is evident at the sites of historic discoveries. Just 300 yards from the first canoe found in Lake Mendota, a group of ten canoes were identified along an ancient submerged shoreline.
This region, once part of the Dejope savannas, offers a window into the movements and changes of indigenous communities over the centuries.
Canoes as historical markers
The new approach of treating small urban bodies of water as potential archaeological sites has yielded surprising results.
Amy Rosebrough, an archaeologist at the state of Wisconsin, compares the work to efforts like those of mudlarks on the River Thames in London, who search for artifacts from the past along the banks.
In Wisconsin, reports from ordinary citizens have led to important discoveries, with many canoes in impressive conditions of preservation. Some still contain oars, tools and other associated objects.
The survey has already confirmed 79 of 112 reportsand sightings in the state, and searches continue.
Most of the canoes remain at the discovery sites while archaeologists record detailed data. — measurements, stylistic peculiarities and visual records — using techniques such as photogrammetry and lidar.
These techniques, together with the collection of samples for analysis, help determine the ages and origins of the vessels.
Scientific and historical revelations
Dean Witter/Wisconsin Historical Society
The analyses carried out so far point to an age range between 150 and 5.000 years, with lengths ranging from 2 to 11 meters.
Some canoes share time lines with historical events such as the invention of the Phoenician alphabet.
The oldest dated by Thomsen in Lake Mendota are 1.200 and 3.000 years old, while the oldest in the research is an elm specimen over 4.500 years old.
In addition to carbon dating, the study uses methods such as strontium isotope analysis and dendrochronology.
This data helps not only to determine the age of the vessels, but also to understand the climatic and ecological conditions of the time.
For example, the transition from oak forests to savannas influenced the choice of materials, with the Ho-Chunk opting for elm because of its strength and straightness.
The role of technology and traditional knowledge
Although popular wisdom suggests that canoes were made of softwoods, about a third of the examples analyzed are made of hardwoods, such as oak and elm.
This choice reflects the cultural ingenuity and ecological knowledge of indigenous peoples, who adapted their techniques to local conditions and available tools.
Despite differences in materials and eras, canoe design has remained consistent over the millennia. As Quackenbush notes, “When something works, why change it?” This efficient simplicity is a testament to these people’s deep understanding of their needs and the environment in which they lived.
Reconnection with the past
The discoveries at Lake Mendota have been an opportunity for Madison’s Ho-Chunk people to reconnect with their roots.
In 2022, tribal members built a canoe using traditional methods and sailed it around the city's four lakes.
Dean Witter/Wisconsin Historical Society
In 2024, another canoe was carved and taken down the Mississippi River. These initiatives not only celebrate the past, but also strengthen the sense of community identity.
In parallel, Quackenbush and his team are using technology such as ground-penetrating radar to search for more artifacts in the region, including campfires and submerged canoes.
These collaborative efforts between archaeologists, local tribes, and ordinary citizens are helping to preserve and share Wisconsin’s rich history.
Thomsen and Schroeder's work inspired other states to begin their own canoe surveys.
Additionally, the Society for American Archaeology devoted a symposium to the importance of these finds. As Rosebrough notes, canoes provide an accessible entry point into the past. They connect people to a history that is still alive on today’s lakes and rivers.
The depths of these waters are not just submerged landscapes, but true vaults of historical treasures, waiting to tell their stories to future generations.
Yes, it's true, the bottom of rivers is a true aquatic library; an unparalleled archive. Rivers are in fact the social and economic reality of the planet, their floods harvest the production of economic life wherever they go and deposit treasures along their paths since the planet was created...
I have the habit of sifting river gravel when it arrives at my house for renovations. I have even found a prehistoric axe.
It is wonderful to sift through the riverbeds.
Nothing **** or surprising for archaeologists. We all know that Asian peoples of Mongolian origin already inhabited North America more than 20 thousand years ago, arriving there through the passive channel that formed where today is the Beringer Strait, due to the retreat of the ocean waters during the last Ice Age and that these people were already developed enough to manufacture utensils and objects, and already manufactured boats and other equipment.