Archaeologists have unearthed 16 prehistoric canoes from the bottom of Lake Mendota in Wisconsin, with the oldest dating back 5,200 years—predating the Egyptian pyramids. The discovery began in June 2021 when diver Tamara Thomsen spotted a sunken dugout canoe during a dive. Initially thought to be 300 years old, radiocarbon dating later revealed it was 1,200 years old. A second canoe found in 2022 was 3,000 years old, and subsequent finds have included 14 more vessels, with the youngest being 700 years old.
The canoes are shedding light on Indigenous history in the region. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, the findings indicate that Indigenous peoples inhabited the area more than 4,000 years before European arrival. Bill Quackenbush, tribal historic preservation officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation, said the canoes are helping tribal members understand how early peoples navigated the land. The Ho-Chunk, who arrived in the region between 500-1200 CE, had lost the knowledge of dugout canoe making due to forced removals in the 19th century.
Archaeologists now believe that villages were established around the lakes long before the Ho-Chunk arrived, and that an overland trail network was used. The dugout canoes, similar to those later used by the Ho-Chunk for fishing and trade, may have been left for other tribe members—likened by archaeologist Dr Amy Rosebrough to ancient 'e-bike stations'. The discoveries have inspired the Ho-Chunk Nation to revive canoe-making traditions, launching an annual Dugout Canoe Journey in 2022.
The 2026 Ho-Chunk Nation Dugout Canoe Journey will begin on 1 June in Portage, Wisconsin, along the Wisconsin River, stopping at historic locations. The event is open to the public, with details to be announced on the Nation's Facebook page. Quackenbush noted that the canoes have played a role in reuniting the two Ho-Chunk tribes, who were separated after US government removals between the 1820s and 1860s.
