Ancient Canoe discovered in Florida after Hurricane Ian, likely from the 16th Century

Florida: An ancient canoe was discovered in Fort Myers after Hurricane Ian in 2022, which is believed to date back to the 16th century and be built in the Caribbean, making it several hundred years old. The storm pushed the canoe out of the river bed into a local’s yard. After it was reported to the authorities, the canoe was carefully cleaned and preserved by the state archaeologists.

The canoe is reported to be made of Mahogany - a wood which does not grow in Florida. In the south of the state and in the Keys, some native stands may be seen but large-scale growth suitable for canoes, Mahogany is more commonly present in the Caribbean. Due to this, archaeologists think that the vessel may have come from the Caribbean.

It may have been brought by travelers or it may have drifted over to Florida, across the sea. The canoe is 9 feet (2.7 meters) in length and has marks which were made by iron tools. This serves as another clue that it was not built in Florida as the use of iron was unknown to Americans at that time.

These pieces of evidence indicate that the canoe was made after Spanish and other European settlement in the area. Some excerpts also believe that it may have been a dugout cayuco which was made by the Spanish explorers.

Challenges faced by experts in testing the canoe

“We sent in two samples for radiocarbon dating and unfortunately those dates we’re still working with, because they came back earlier than what we’d expect,” said Florida’s deputy state archaeologist, Sam Wilford.

Some of the results may have no value as the samples may have been contaminated. “Somebody could have put something like a bitumen on the surface that is interfering with the radiocarbon dating, or the actual date we’re seeing is the date of the tree’s death, so it’s not dating the canoe, it’s dating the wood,” Wilford added.

It is also a possibility that the wood used to make the canoe was stored or drifted for years before being used, making it very old in the first place. Despite these challenges, the research team has confirmed that the canoe is a rare and important find.

Florida is known to have found a large number of ancient canoes. Over 450 have been found in the state and some are an astounding 7,000 years’ old. These canoes were used by early Floridians to travel in the water. Native Americans used them for fishing and trade. Later, Europeans also used these canoes to travel around the waterways.