Archaeologists and regional First Nations have mapped 16 ancient dugout canoes in Lake Mendota, with radiocarbon dates ranging from about 3000 BCE to roughly 700 years ago. Many canoes were carved from red or white oak—some showing evidence of tyloses—suggesting deliberate tree selection and advanced woodworking knowledge. The boats cluster in two shoreline groupings consistent with ancient travel routes used for fishing, trade and travel. A $113,912 grant will fund multi-year conservation of the two recovered vessels before final freeze-drying and public display.
16 Submerged Canoes in Lake Mendota Reveal Millennia of Indigenous Waterways
Archaeologists and regional First Nations have mapped 16 ancient dugout canoes in Lake Mendota, with radiocarbon dates ranging from about 3000 BCE to roughly 700 years ago. Many canoes were carved from red or white oak—some showing evidence of tyloses—suggesting deliberate tree selection and advanced woodworking knowledge. The boats cluster in two shoreline groupings consistent with ancient travel routes used for fishing, trade and travel. A $113,912 grant will fund multi-year conservation of the two recovered vessels before final freeze-drying and public display.
07:59 PM, 11/19/2025Culture
Four years after the first dugout canoe was recovered from Lake Mendota, archaeologists working with regional First Nations and university and federal partners have identified a total of 16 ancient canoes in the lakebed. The discoveries—ranging in age from roughly 5,200 years to about 700 years old—are reshaping understanding of watercraft technology, travel networks and cultural practices in the Great Lakes region.
Discovery, mapping and dating
Teams led by Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society, in collaboration with First Nations representatives, University of Wisconsin–Madison researcher Sissel Schroeder and the USDA Forest Products Laboratory, have mapped all 16 canoe locations and analyzed the wood species used in their construction. The initial canoe was raised in 2021 and a second, recovered in 2022, was estimated at about 3,000 years old; six additional canoes were located during the spring 2025 survey.
Radiocarbon dates show an extensive span of use: the oldest canoe is roughly 5,200 years old (about 3000 BCE), older than the building of the Great Pyramid, making it the earliest known dugout canoe from the Great Lakes region and the third-oldest documented dugout in eastern North America. The most recent canoe dates to approximately 700 years ago.
Tree selection, tyloses and woodworking skill
About half of the canoes appear to have been carved from red or white oak—an unexpected result because red oak typically absorbs water and is not commonly chosen for boat construction. Wood analysis indicates that some of the selected trees had formed tyloses, balloon-like cellular structures that block water-conducting vessels and help resist decay when a tree is stressed or wounded.
“Archaeology is kind of like putting together pieces of a puzzle, and the more pieces you can find, the better you can start to form a picture,”
Researchers suggest canoe makers may have intentionally selected naturally stressed trees or even induced wounding during growth to encourage tylosis formation—practices that reflect sophisticated, long-standing woodworking knowledge and resource management.
Clusters, travel routes and uses
The canoes cluster in two distinct shoreline groupings, and carbon dating shows both areas were used across thousands of years. Investigators propose these groupings mark strategic storage or staging points along ancient water routes—shared resources used for fishing, trade and travel to culturally significant sites such as nearby Lake Wingra.
Associated artifacts recovered with some canoes—such as net sinkers found with Canoe #1 and Canoe #13—support the interpretation that these dugouts were used for both fishing and transportation. Before large-scale landscape changes associated with European settlement, steep bluffs and marshes made many overland routes impractical, so waterways often provided the most efficient travel corridors.
Cultural significance
Tribal preservation officers emphasize that the canoes strengthen ties to a long Indigenous presence in the region and illuminate ancestral relationships with the land and water. Larry Plucinski, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, said the finds reflect "a sophisticated travel network and interconnected communities" who relied on deep environmental knowledge.
Dr. Amy Rosebrough, State Archaeologist for the Wisconsin Historical Society, highlighted the spiritual importance of local waters for the Ho-Chunk people, noting that springs and lakes in the region hold enduring ceremonial and cultural meaning.
Conservation, funding and display plans
In September the Wisconsin Historical Society received a $113,912 Save America’s Treasures grant from the National Park Service to support conservation of the two recovered canoes. The vessels are undergoing a multi-year stabilization using polyethylene glycol (PEG) to consolidate waterlogged wood before being transported to Texas A&M University for freeze-drying—the final step in long-term preservation.
Project leaders say the recovery, analysis and conservation work are the result of sustained collaboration among First Nations, archaeologists and preservation specialists. At least one of the treated canoes is expected to be displayed in the future Wisconsin History Center to help share the deep history of the region’s earliest inhabitants.