How we used to get around: Archaeologists unearth 1,100-year-old canoe from Florida

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 6:05 PM on 2nd March 2011

A 1,100-year-old canoe has been excavated from mud on a Florida island 10 years after it was first discovered by an amateur archaeologist

The 40ft dugout canoe - which predates Christopher Columbus's 'discovery' of America by at least 600 years - was carefully extracted from the shore at Weedon Island, by staff from Pinellas County's archeology team.

Uncovered: Ten years after its discovery 1,000 year old canoe has been excavated on Weedon Island, Florida

Long job: The excavation and preservation of the 40ft canoe will take two years

BEFORE COLUMBUS: THE MANASOTA CULTURE

Long before Christopher Columbus's discovery voyage of 1492, the Manasota people provided the indigenous culture on the west cost of Florida.

They were a race of hunter-gatherers who lived there from around 550BC until around 900AD.

Weedon Island, where the canoe was discovered, was a key religious ground for the culture, and many people and objects were laid to rest there in sand burial mounds.

There are several preservation sites in the area including a hamlet called Yat Kitischee, which means 'red people' in the native American Muskogee language.

It is the oldest canoe ever found in Florida and to prevent the lengthy fragile artefact from snapping during its removal, the team used hacksaws to cut it into sections.

Once it had been transported back to the mainland the sections were cleaned and then lowered into a tank of fresh water and chemical solutions which will preserve the 1,100-year-old wood.

The two-year excavation, cleaning and preservation will be paid for by a private group, Friends of Weedon Island, who raised $30,000 (£18,000) for the cause.

'The find is exciting,' Phyllis Kolianos of Pinellas County preserve education centers told WTSP.com.

'It's the largest canoe ever found in Florida in a salt water environment and it helps tell the story of the Manasota culture.

The canoe had initially been found by enthusiast Harry Koran a decade ago when he was scanning the shoreline for artefacts.

'I noticed a piece of wood in the ground, which was so perfectly in line, it looked more than just a tree branch,' said Mr Koran, who was delighted to be present during the excavation.

At the end of the process the canoe will be displayed at Weedon Island Preserve Cultural and Natural History Center.