Ancient Dugout Canoe Found in Louisiana

BELCHER, LOUISIANA—KTBS News reports that a woman looking for artifacts along the Red River in northwestern Louisiana spotted a dugout canoe in the mud of the riverbank. Jeffrey Girard of the Louisiana Archaeological Society and Robert Chip of the State Archaeological Division excavated the cypress-wood canoe, which is missing one side. What remains measures about 34 feet long and three feet wide, and is thought to have been constructed by the Caddo people between 800 and 1,000 years ago. The vessel will be studied and conserved at Texas A&M University. A sample has been taken for radiocarbon dating. For more on archaeology in Louisiana, go to “Archaic Engineers Worked on a Deadline.”