Indian Canoe

This canoe was rediscovered in 1962 in Hampton Lake, northwest of Starke, Florida.  It was left in the lake for years until space was available at the Bureau of Archaeological Research in Tallahassee to preserve the canoe by immersion in a vat of sugar-water solution.

The 18-foot canoe of southern hard pine is charred on the inside, indicating the use of the chip-and-burn method of construction prior to the introduction of iron tools.  The narrow body was likely maneuvered around the shallow lake with a pole.