Initial findings in 2021 showed a 1,200-year-old canoe, with older canoes—dated at 3,000 and 4,500 years, and then 2,000 years—revealing a long history of lake travel and reuse.

The 5,200-year-old canoe is one of the oldest in the region, with two older canoes found in Florida.

Researchers have identified and mapped 16 ancient canoes submerged in Lake Mendota, Madison, suggesting a prehistoric ‘parking lot’ where Indigenous people left canoes for reuse along travel routes.

The project emphasizes Indigenous collaboration and cultural significance, with tribal preservation officers highlighting the enduring connection between Indigenous communities and these waters.

Lake Mendota sits within a broader landscape that includes Lake Wingra and Ho-Chunk ancestral lands, with spiritual importance tied to local springs and waters.

The project began in 2021 with the discovery of a 1,200-year-old canoe, followed by finds of progressively older canoes (up to 4,500 years old), suggesting multiple layers of use at the lake site.

As discoveries continued from 2021 onward, researchers documented canoes dating as old as 4,500 years, prompting the expectation that many more rests lie at the lake bed.

Radiocarbon dating places the oldest canoe at about 5,200 years old, making it the third oldest canoe found in eastern North America and indicating a long tradition of lake-based travel in the region.

The dating of 16 canoes places the oldest at roughly 5,200 years, underscoring the canoe-travel tradition across eastern North America and its complex prehistoric use of lake habitats.