3,000 years ago, in 1,000 BCE, the Kingdom of Israel and the Assyrian Empire began. The Latins had just entered Italy. The crossbow and the saddle hadn’t been invented yet in Europe. And in North America, in what is now Wisconsin, someone left a dugout canoe on the shores of Lake Mendota. Last week, that 3,000 year-old boat was found by archaeologist Tamara Thomsen. Thomsen broke her own record for the oldest shipwreck discovery in Wisconsin – in 2021, Thomsen found a 1,200 year old canoe less than 100 yards from this latest, older find. The boat confirms that indigenous Americans have settled in the area the Ho Chunk call De Jope for a very, very long time. Tamara Thomsen, an underwater archaeologist with the Wisconsin Historical Society and Ho Chunk Nation Tribal Preservation Officer Bill Quackenbush joined Monday Buzz host Brian Standing on September 26, 2022.
Photo of 3,000 year-old dugout by Tamara Thomsen – Wisconsin Historical Society