A 1,100-year-old canoe found in Florida

[theshee]

A 1,100-year-old canoe has been excavated from mud on a Florida island 10 years after it was first discovered by an amateur archaeologist

The 40ft dugout canoe - which predates Christopher Columbus's 'discovery' of America by at least 600 years - was carefully extracted from the shore at Weedon Island, by staff from Pinellas County's archeology team.

It is the oldest canoe ever found in Florida and to prevent the lengthy fragile artefact from snapping during its removal, the team used hacksaws to cut it into sections.

Once it had been transported back to the mainland the sections were cleaned and then lowered into a tank of fresh water and chemical solutions which will preserve the 1,100-year-old wood.

The two-year excavation, cleaning and preservation will be paid for by a private group, Friends of Weedon Island, who raised $30,000 (£18,000) for the cause.

'The find is exciting,' Phyllis Kolianos of Pinellas County preserve education centers told WTSP.com.

'It's the largest canoe ever found in Florida in a salt water environment and it helps tell the story of the Manasota culture.

The canoe had initially been found by enthusiast Harry Koran a decade ago when he was scanning the shoreline for artefacts.

'I noticed a piece of wood in the ground, which was so perfectly in line, it looked more than just a tree branch,' said Mr Koran, who was delighted to be present during the excavation.

At the end of the process the canoe will be displayed at Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center.

www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1362138/The-1-000-year-old-canoe-excavated-10-years-discovery-amateur-archaeologist.html

[brillbilly]

yeah! dont tell Christopher Columbus this,they will stop his royalty cheque.
nice find!

[Wes Gear]

I think the people who made this canoe were there a long time before Columbus.

---

The native people who lived at Yat Kitischee were associated with a prehistoric culture known as Manasota. This culture extended geographically from present day Sarasota County north to Tampa Bay. The Manasota culture evolved from the earlier Archaic cultures of mobile hunters and gatherers that began settling permanently along the west coast of Florida around 3000– 4000 b.c. These Archaic peoples were themselves descendants of Florida’s first inhabitants, known to archaeologists as Paleo-Indians, who arrived here 12–14,000 years ago.

Unlike their Paleo-Indian and Archaic ancestors, the people of the Manasota culture were fully adapted to a coastal environment, and their archaeological sites contain artifacts and other features that reflect this adaptation. Manasota settlements are located in hammocks near bays and estuaries providing access to fish and shellfish, as well as terrestrial plants and animals in the nearby pine flatwoods and in freshwater streams and ponds.

www.co.pinellas.fl.us/bcc/yatki/manasota.htm

[brillbilly]

Columbus.
was the firstest ever to step on america soil
My schoolbook told me so ,so it must be true!