Wisconsin Archaeologists Find 2,000- to 5,000-Year-Old Canoes in Lake Mendota's Prehistoric 'Parking Lot'
Archaeologists in Wisconsin discovered something shocking in a prehistoric lake. Not one or two, but 16 canoes were found submerged in the lake bed of Lake Mendota in Madison. The announcement was made by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Tamara Thomsen, the state’s maritime archaeologist, revealed another fascinating fact about this find. She revealed that the site has been a prehistoric parking lot, where travellers could leave their canoes for others to use, similar to a modern-day e-bike rack. “It’s a parking spot that’s been used for millennia, over and over,” Thomsen said, as per AP. So, the now lake was once sprawling with communities.
Lake Mendota, situated west of Madison, is about 15 square miles in size. It is located near another smaller water body called Lake Monona, which is merely 5 square miles large. An isthmus is situated in the middle of these two lakes and carries the state's Capitol building and the University of Wisconsin-Madison on its top. The dig for canoes began after 2021, when an archaeologist found a 1,200-year-old canoe submerged in 24 feet of water in the lake. This prompted a series of excavations, and the following year, three massive canoes were found submerged in the lake. One was 300 years old, and beneath it was a 4,500-year-old canoe, and next to it was the third canoe, about 2,000 years old.
These discoveries sent an alert among scientists and archaeologists that there might be more canoes hidden beneath the surface. The recently discovered 16 canoes were either made of red or white oak, as per wood type analysis conducted by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory. Oak isn’t typically used for dugout canoes today, but it makes up a great canoe construction material because of its water absorption tendency. “Looking at the tree species taxonomy, we wondered not just why certain trees were used by the builders but also why these canoes were situated in these two locations," Thomsen said. They found that the oak wood in the samples is mixed with other species.
When a tree encounters trouble or stress in the growth period, it forms something called tyloses. During the formation of tyloses, the oak prevents water movement and fungal growth within, preventing the wood from decaying. This explains how the ancient transportation means remained intact over the years. “It’s entirely possible that the canoe builders were intentionally selecting trees that had been damaged from weather or purposefully wounding them during their growth cycle to induce tyloses," she said. "We think of bioengineering as a modern practice, but the samples we have suggest this may have been taking place long before the term was coined in the mid-20th century,” Thomsen added.
Bill Quackenbush, the Ho-Chunk’s tribal preservation officer, explained why these finds matter in modern-day archaeology. “This project gives us a meaningful opportunity to gain a deeper perspective on our heritage and our ancestors," he said. "The canoes remind us how long our people have lived in this region and how deeply connected we remain to these waters and lands." The officer feels that it's important to capture these stories to keep the youth connected to their state's past.
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