MADISON, WISCONSIN—Kenosha News reports that maritime archaeologist Tamara Thomsen of the Wisconsin Historical Society discovered a dugout canoe sticking out of the mud of southern Wisconsin’s Lake Mendota while on a recreational dive last summer. Radiocarbon dating indicates the vessel is 1,200 years old. The canoe, thought to be made of basswood or walnut, was brought to the surface this week. First, it will be submerged in a tank of water mixed with biocide at the State Archive Preservation Facility to kill algae and microorganisms, and then in polyethylene glycol as a preservative. Researcher Amy Rosebrough suggests the canoe was constructed by Wisconsin’s Effigy Mound builders, who lived in encampments around Lake Mendota and southern Wisconsin. A cache of net sinkers, used for fishing with nets, was also recovered. To read about mammoth kill sites excavated in this area of Wisconsin, go to "America, in the Beginning: Schaefer and Hebior Kill Sites."
