Our dugout canoe
Dendrochronology shows
Three hundred years old
In central New York State a dugout canoe was found buried in mud on the bank of a pond. It was removed, washed, slowly dried, and preserved in the Chenango County Historical Society Museum. It was determined by both dendrochronological methods and carbon-14 dating to have been produced around 1720 AD from a black ash tree trunk.
I used to paddle in our local rivers with my elegant aluminum canoe. But this dugout canoe does not look seaworthy. It would easily tip over. Perhaps it was not for riders, but for use as a floating basket for harvesting wild rice or clams or other aquatic provisions.
Original research:
Moyer, David ; Windsor, Donald A. ; Noble, Daniel B. ; Griggs, Carol B. The history and dendrochronological dating of the Dave Walker dugout canoe: a progress report. The Bulletin. Journal of the New York State Archaeological Association 2015 Number 129: 49-56.
Windsor, Donald A. Dave Walker’s dugout canoe. Chenango Archaeologist 2009-2010 Winter; 2(7): 1-2. http://chenangoarchaeologists.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/dave-walkers-dugout-canoe.html
Windsor, Donald A. Wild rice in Chenango County. Chenango Archaeologist 2009-2010 Winter; 2(7): 3.
Donald A. Windsor, a biologist with a multidisciplinary background, is a former president of the Chenango Chapter of the New York State Archaeological Association. He retired from industrial pharmaceutical research and development 23 years ago. He is currently affiliated with the Ronin Institute for Independent Scholarship. His blog is http://www.chenangoarchaeologists.blogspot.com/
Enjoyed this sciku? Check out Donald’s other sciku: Equal rights for parasites.