45-Foot Ancient Canoe Stuck In Muck Of Weedon Island (Tampa Bay)

MSNBC - Tampa Tribune ^ | 5-5-2008 | KEITH MORELLI

[blam]

45-Foot Ancient Canoe Stuck In The Muck Of Weedon Island

Tampa Bay Online
updated 3:10 p.m. CT, Mon., May. 5, 2008
By KEITH MORELLI of The Tampa Tribune

ST. PETERSBURG - Stuck somewhere in the muck of Weedon Island is a significant piece of history.

A 45-foot canoe, buried for more than a thousand years and used by a long-dead culture of Native Americans, worked its way to the surface, and now authorities are trying to figure out how best to preserve it.

The vessel is carved out of a single pine tree, and archaeologists say it was used to paddle over the open waters of the bay — unlike the other ancient canoes uncovered in Florida over the years, which were used to ply the calmer waters of lakes and rivers.

With the back end of the canoe broken off, it measures 39 feet, 11 inches. If the missing piece was attached, archaeologists estimate 5 more feet would be added to the length. The size of the vessel and configuration of the bow leads archaeologists to think the vessel may have been used to trade with people living some distance away.

"It's the longest prehistoric canoe ever found in the state of Florida," said Weedon Island Preserve Center manager Phyllis Kolianos.

"I think it's fascinating," she said this morning. "I think it's a very important find, and it's very significant. It gives us an understanding that these weren't simple people living here, that they were probably trading with other cultures."

The dugout is the first pre-Columbian seagoing vessel uncovered in Florida. It points to a culture that thrived in what would become the Tampa Bay area and traded with others along the Gulf of Mexico coast and beyond. The influence of the Weedon Island culture

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[ClearCase_guy]

these weren't simple people living here

Stone Age people paddling tree trunks around. Guess it depends on your definition of "simple".

[wildbill]

Captain was probably drunk and hit a reef like the Exxon Valdez.

no super glue for repairs.

[Red Badger]

Guess it depends on your definition of "simple".

You ever try to hollow out a 50 foot tree?........

[mtbopfuyn]

leads archaeologists to think the vessel may have been used to trade with people living some distance away.

Naw, most likely it was one of the first of the Carnival Cruise Line.

[Puppage]

You ever try to hollow out a 50 foot tree?........

Ewell Gibbons is that you?

[fishtank]

Just because they were Stone Age doesn’t mean they were stupid.

[weegee]

A 45-foot canoe, buried for more than a thousand years and used by a long-dead culture of Native Americans, worked its way to the surface, and now authorities are trying to figure out how best to preserve it.

Put it back into the muck.

[okie01]

no super glue for repairs.

Super glue is OK for small stuff.

But if your canoe needs major repairs, only duct tape will do.

[Ditto]

You ever try to hollow out a 50 foot tree?........

with stone tools no less!

[BallyBill]

If only they had invented the life jacket first these ancient people might still be around.

[HD1200]

Wouldn’t even make good firewood anymore I guess.

Seriously now; aren’t we taking this idea that everything we find that society threw away a thousand years ago has to somehow be preserved forever....???

[ElectricStrawberry]

Northeast injuns used fire to hollow out tree trunks for canoes....think they’re called “burn out” canoes.

Ain’t THAT hard....just takes some time.

[Red Badger]

Not to mention cutting it down without killing yourself or anyone in your tribe!...............

[MHGinTN]

Ewell would have chewed it out, swallowing every bite!

[weegee]

"I'm Euell Gibbons many consider me an expert on natural foods like cattails, yes they're edible..."

Glad THAT was not an ingredient in Grape Nuts.

[Red Badger]

Just because they were Stone Age doesn’t mean they were stupid.

My thoughts exactly......

[ClearCase_guy]

I didn't say they were stupid.

I see two broad categories of cultures: Simple and Advanced. Stone Age people paddling tree trunks would fall into the "simple" category.

[Red Badger]

Northeast injuns used fire to hollow out tree trunks for canoes.

Nowadays they hollow out peoples' wallets for casinos.......

[weegee]

This is why you have to shread every scrap of paper today... The historians of the future will dig it out of trash heaps, reconstitute your DNA, and ask you annoying questions about what you used “this” for...

[weegee]

They were advanced enough NOT to use petrified wood for their canoes.

[Beagle8U]

“You ever try to hollow out a 50 foot tree?........”

In most cases before the advent of iron tools, fire was used to burn out most of the wood using hot coals.

[blam]

Check out these Floridians:

Bye, Bye Beringia (8,000 Year Old Site In Florida)

* 90 intact human brains that include the oldest DNA samples in the World.

[VeniVidiVici]

You ever try to hollow out a 50 foot tree?........ with stone tools no less!

It's not like they had to squeeze it in between American Idol and Dancing with the Stars.

[Old Professer]

“In most cases before the advent of iron tools, fire was used to burn out most of the wood using hot coals.”

That must have been like examining brand-new horseshoes...

[fish hawk]

I guess to people that think like you would have them invent the lumber mill and nails first, then build the canoe and be classified as “advanced”. Actually they used what nature had supplied them in their environment. My tribe carved solid canoes out of redwood trees. Although they did not make them 40 feet long, more like 16 to 24 feet.

[ClearCase_guy]

Clearly I have staged a vicious attack against your people and yourself. You have properly chastised me for my lashing insults to your ancestors -- my derision of their boat-making skills has been noted and I am now truly chagrined.

I will never again refer to Stone Age people as "simple".

[Beagle8U]

“That must have been like examining brand-new horseshoes...”

It doesn’t take long to inspect one of those...lol.

[najida]

http://www.cavemanscrib.com

And they can dance too.

[Soliton]

It was a pine tree soft enough to pound out. there are some big oaks and cypress there. They were smart enough not to use them.

[fish hawk]

Look at it this way. In 200 years from now, if humans survive, they will look at our trains and airplanes and laugh at how simple and backward we were compared to their way of doing things and their materials to do it with. In our defense we can say that , hey, we did the best we could with the knowledge and materials we had to work with.

[Natural Law]

Interesting find, but BFD. How do you suppose the Caribbean Islands were populated?

[weegee]

"We thank you."

[weegee]

Who are they voting for in 2008?

[JRandomFreeper]

How do you suppose the Caribbean Islands were populated?

By hetrosexuals?

/johnny

[Arguendo]

I guess to people that think like you would have them invent the lumber mill and nails first, then build the canoe and be classified as “advanced”. Actually they used what nature had supplied them in their environment.

That makes sense. Simple cultures use what nature makes available to them, sometimes very effectively, but still remain largely constrained by nature. Advanced cultures developed technologies that allow them to do far more given similar natural endowments.

[Beagle8U]

“It was a pine tree soft enough to pound out. there are some big oaks and cypress there. They were smart enough not to use them.”

What kind of pine was it? Not all pine is soft. Ever hear of yellow, or lob-lolly pine? It's quite hard and very common in the south.

[count-your-change]

Some letters were scratched on the side of the craft that, when fully deciphered, read. “AARP member since 900 a.d.”

[count-your-change]

Digging Up Coprolites, or How to Make a Living Rooting Around in Old Sewers comes to mind (and leaves just as quickly).

[Rebelbase]

Tampa Bay area must have been a paradise back in their day.

[count-your-change]

That’s what the fellow that had 300 cats in his freezers was keeping them for, waiting for his Euell Gibbons Cook Book.

[Soliton]

probably southern yellow pinw

[kaboom]

archaeologists say it was used to paddle over the open waters of the bay

...or it wasn't sea worthy and plunged into the muck minutes after hitting the water. Experts have not ruled out the possibility of it striking an iceberg that drifted south. A result of global warming.

[Beagle8U]

Southern yellow pine = lob-lolly pine. Once dried it is so hard a cat couldn't scratch it.

[fish hawk]

All cultures were simple at their beginnings, even yours.

[Arguendo]

Of course. I'm not saying it's a bad thing.

You don't need to take this personally. It's not an insult, so I don't know why you're making a big deal about it.

[SunkenCiv]

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[ApplegateRanch]

You ever try to hollow out a 50 foot tree?........

with stone tools no less!

Trained beavers. They do the rough work, then the guys with the stone tools do the finishing.

I saw it done on a Looney Tunes documentary.

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Dammit, why do we Freepers always have to think of all of the solutions to the word's problems?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-43_Massive_Ordnance_Air_Blast_bomb

If the damn thing was so great then why did it sink?