Wisconsin Historical Society Discovers Oldest Canoe in the Great Lakes

A collection of ancient canoes has been discovered at an active archaeological site in Madison, Wisconsin’s Lake Mendota, where two dugout canoes were previously discovered by the Wisconsin Historical Society, in partnership with Native Nations, back in 2021 and 2022. Researchers recently identified at least 10 more unique canoes at the site. Radiocarbon dating results indicate the oldest canoe in the cache is approximately 4,500 years old, making it the oldest dugout canoe now recorded in the Great Lakes, dating back to around 2500 BC.

“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,” says Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation Bill Quackenbush.

Research will continue at the Lake Mendota archaeological site. The two preserved Lake Mendota canoes and the stories of their makers will be shared in the Wisconsin Historical Society’s future Wisconsin History Center when it opens in 2027.

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