Ancient Florida canoe comes to life...

[G.I.B.]

This article is from the Tampa Bay Times, 10-17-2015. It talks about the difficulty with preservation of this canoe which was found in Tampa Bay, St. Petersburg side of the bay, just south of the Howard Franklin Bridge on Weeden Island.




What they found was extraordinary: the first canoe ever discovered in a saltwater environment in the southeast United States or Caribbean. Dug out of pine and nearly 40 feet long, it was also the longest prehistoric canoe ever discovered. The gunnels have eroded and the stern had broken off, so researchers think the canoe was even longer. But they don't know if it was single hull canoe, an outrigger or part of a catamaran.
Radiocarbon dating put the canoe at about 890 A.D., in the time of the Late Weeden Island culture, when the area teemed with indigenous hunter-gatherers who made colorful pottery.

From the Tampa Bay Times , full article here.

 

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[PaDirtDigger]

Awesome...

 

[LM]

Very cool.
I am 90% sure I know where one is, that's been sitting in the shallows of a remote shoreline of Lake George (which is right the dugout canoe hot zone for Florida, according to the state archaeologists records)

I didn't get out to see it up close since the gator situation there is intense but its either a very weird natural coincidence, or a dugout canoe.

According to this guide, they aren't a super-big deal:
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/flarch/what-do-if-you-find-dugout-canoe/

... but it seems that what is considered a 'big deal' anymore has more to do with hype and the archaeologists doing the hyping. I've seen 'discoveries' make the front page of the paper that were pretty trivial, but a good huckster-archie and a newspaper in need of something to write about can be a mutually beneficial combo

 

[aquanut]

We've got a beautiful example of a native canoe here in our little museum in Alva, Florida. Just up river from Ft. Myers.

 

[CaptEsteban]

You can see now why after so many of those are found , documented, & studied , that they are reburied in situ. I remember when over 100 were found at Lake Newnan , near Gainesville.

 

[Jolly Mon]

Very cool.
I am 90% sure I know where one is, thait's been sitting in the shallows of a remote shoreline of Lake George (which is right the dugout canoe hot zone for Florida, according to the state archaeologists records)

I didn't get out to see it up close since the gator situation there is intense but its either a very weird natural coincidence, or a dugout canoe.

According to this guide, they aren't a super-big deal:
https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/flarch/what-do-if-you-find-dugout-canoe/

... but it seems that what is considered a 'big deal' anymore has more to do with hype and the archaeologists doing the hyping. I've seen 'discoveries' make the front page of the paper that were pretty trivial, but a good huckster-archie and a newspaper in need of something to write about can be a mutually beneficial combo

You beat me to the punch...lol. "First canoe ever discovered in a salt water environment in the southeastern United States" is just complete hooey. There have been many found. Just for example, one was found and excavated off of Parris Island, S.C. back in the late 80's. You can see it on display at the Marine Corps museum on Parris Island.

The overriding dream of most archaeologists isn't increased knowledge, it is the prospect of fame associated with making a "big" discovery.