If you thought bike-share was a great new idea, wait until you hear about the canoe share going on in prehistoric times! Archaeologists in Wisconsin have discovered what appears to be a prehistoric "parking lot" for canoes beneath the waters of Lake Mendota in Madison. The Wisconsin Historical Society announced this week that maritime archaeologists have now mapped the locations of 16 ancient dugout canoes submerged in the lakebed, with the oldest dating back an astonishing 5,200 years - making it the third-oldest canoe ever discovered in eastern North America and the oldest recorded from the Great Lakes region.
The remarkable discovery suggests that Indigenous peoples strategically placed these watercraft at designated storage points along ancestral travel routes, much like modern community bike-sharing stations. "It's a parking spot that's been used for millennia, over and over," said Tamara Thomsen in an AP report, the state's maritime archaeologist who has been leading the investigation since 2021.
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Uncovering Millennia of Indigenous Navigation
The investigation began in 2021 when Thomsen discovered the remains of a 1,200-year-old canoe while diving 24 feet beneath Lake Mendota's surface. The following year brought even more remarkable finds: a 3,000-year-old canoe, with a 4,500-year-old canoe beneath it and a 2,000-year-old canoe beside it. These layered discoveries alerted researchers that they had stumbled upon something far more significant than a single lost watercraft. Working in partnership with Professor Sissel Schroeder from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with preservation officers from the Ho-Chunk Nation and the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Thomsen has continued to locate and document additional canoes. Six more were discovered in spring 2025 alone.
Radiocarbon dating reveals that these vessels span an incredible timeline, with the oldest crafted around 3000 BC, while the most recent is approximately 700 years old. This continuous use over thousands of years demonstrates the enduring importance of this particular location to successive Indigenous communities who inhabited the region.
The remains of a canoe in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, June 2025. (Tamara Thomsen/ Wisconsin Historical Society via AP)
Strategic Placement and Ancient Bioengineering
Analysis of the canoes' positions reveals two distinct groupings along the shoreline, positioned near a network of ancient Indigenous trails. According to the Wisconsin Historical Society, this strategic placement suggests the canoes were communally owned and stored at convenient access points for travelers moving between land and water routes. The landscape around Madison's lakes looked vastly different before European settlement, with large bluffs that made overland travel difficult in certain areas. Canoe travel would have provided more efficient routes for communities accessing natural resources, trading goods, and reaching spiritually significant locations.
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3,000-year-old canoe retrieved from Mendota Lake, Wisconsin, USA in 2022. (Wisconsin Historical Society)
Perhaps most fascinating is the discovery that half of the 16 canoes were constructed from red or white oak. Red oak typically absorbs water and isn't considered ideal for boat construction, yet these ancient builders deliberately selected it. Wood analysis conducted by the USDA Forest Products Laboratory revealed the answer: the builders likely chose trees that had developed tyloses—balloon-like structures that form inside wood vessels when trees experience stress, wounds, or natural aging. These tyloses block water movement, making the wood more resistant to water absorption and rot.
Historical illustration showing Native Americans constructing a dugout canoe, circa 1590. (Public Domain)
"It's entirely possible that the canoe builders were intentionally selecting trees that had been damaged from weather or purposefully wounding them during their growth cycle to induce tyloses," Thomsen explained. "We think of bioengineering as a modern practice, but the samples we have suggest this may have been taking place long before the term was coined in the mid-20th century."
Spiritual Connections and Cultural Significance
The canoes likely facilitated travel to Lake Wingra, a smaller lake on Madison's south side that holds profound spiritual importance for the Ho-Chunk Nation. One of the springs feeding Lake Wingra, with its distinctive white clay bottom, is viewed as a portal to the spirit world. For generations, the Ho-Chunk have honored this sacred place through ceremonies of remembrance, guidance, and peace.
"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, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Ho-Chunk Nation. "It is important that we document and share these stories so our youth feel that connection to our past."
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Thomsen, who typically spends her days uncovering Great Lakes shipwrecks, described this project as the most impactful work of her career. "Talking with the Indigenous people, sometimes I sit here and just get goose bumps," she said. "Each one of these canoes gives us another clue to the story."
The Wisconsin Historical Society recently received a $113,912 grant from the National Park Service's Save America's Treasures program to complete preservation treatment on two recovered canoes. After undergoing stabilization with Polyethylene Glycol, the canoes will be transported to Texas A&M University for freeze-drying—a final step that will ensure their long-term preservation. One of these remarkable vessels will eventually be displayed in the future Wisconsin History Center, scheduled to open in late 2027 on Wisconsin's Capitol Square.
As archaeologists continue to investigate the site, they speculate that even older canoes may lie buried beneath those already discovered. If a 7,000-year-old canoe is eventually found, it would indicate that Indigenous peoples predating many of Wisconsin's known tribes once traveled these waters, adding yet another chapter to the region's rich and complex human history.
Top image: The remains of an ancient canoe on the bottom of Lake Mendota. Source: Tamara Thomsen/ Wisconsin Historical Society via AP
By Gary Manners
References
Richmond, T., 2025. Wisconsin archaeologists identify 16 ancient canoes in a prehistoric lake 'parking lot'. Available at: https://apnews.com/article/ancient-canoes-lake-mendota-wisconsin-parking-lot-ee9b5f68a9e8c0f9bcf8af7ae9e9fd8d
Wisconsin Historical Society. 2025. Submerged Canoes in Lake Mendota Offer New Insights into Ancestral Traditions and Waterways. Available at: https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS17431
Richmond, T., 2025. Archaeologists identify more than a dozen ancient canoes in prehistoric 'parking lot'. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/lake-mendota-canoe-wisconsin-prehistoric-b2868999.html
