Canoe 'Parking Lot' in Wisconsin Dates Back 5K Years

Archaeologists have identified more than a dozen ancient canoes that Indigenous people apparently left behind in a sort of prehistoric parking lot along a Wisconsin lakeshore. The Wisconsin Historical Society announced Wednesday that archaeologists have mapped the location of 16 canoes submerged in the lake bed of Lake Mendota in Madison, per the AP. Tamara Thomsen, the state's maritime archaeologist, said that the site lies near a network of what were once Indigenous trails, suggesting ancient people left the canoes there for anyone to use as they traveled, much like a modern-day e-bike rack. "It's a parking spot that's been used for millennia, over and over," Thomsen said.

Lake Mendota is a sprawling, 15-square-mile body of water on Madison's west side, part of the ancestral homeland of the Ho-Chunk Nation. The discoveries began in 2021 when archaeologists uncovered the remains of a 1,200-year-old canoe submerged in 24 feet of water. The following year they found the remains of a 3,000-year-old canoe, a 4,500-year-old canoe under it and a 2,000-year-old canoe next to it, alerting researchers that there was probably more to the site than they expected. Working with Sissel Schroeder, a UW-Madison professor who specializes in Native American cultures, and preservation officers with the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Thomsen says she's now located the remains of 12 additional canoes.

Radiocarbon dating shows the oldest of the 16 dates back to 5,200 years ago, making it the third oldest canoe discovered in eastern North America, she said. Wisconsin experienced a drought beginning about 7,500 years ago and lasting to around 1000 BC, Thomsen said, adding the lake was probably only 4 feet deep over that period, making it a good place to disembark for foot travel. The canoes likely were shared among community members, who would typically bury the canoes in shallow-water sediment so they wouldn't dry out or freeze, Thomsen said. "The canoes remind us how long our people have lived in this region and how deeply connected we remain to these waters and lands," said Bill Quackenbush, the Ho-Chunk's tribal preservation officer.