The development of watercraft in the prehistoric southeastern United States

Abstract

The maritime and riverine past of the southeastern United States has often been ignored or poorly addressed in previous archaeological research. Historical records and archaeological data indicate that this heritage was rich and centered around the development and use of dugout canoes. Such vessels were used in all aspects of southeastern life, including subsistence, trade, transportation, and warfare. They were well-suited to the geography of the region which contains networks of interconnected braided and meandering river channels, swift tidal currents, and broad, shallow sounds. The core of the research is the examination of more than 200 dugout canoes throughout the southeastern United States. The majority of the canoes studied were discovered in Florida, with significant funds also occurring in Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina. Two major wood types were identified in dugout construction, cypress and pine, both of which were used frequently depending on which species was available in a particular region. While two major adaptive strategies are considered, inland and coastal, dugout canoe construction did not vary significantly between these environments. The time span covered by the study begins with the Paleoindian period, although the earliest dugout canoe discovered thus far dates to the Late Archaic period in Florida. Dugout canoes continued to be important through prehistoric Southeast and into the Historic period. Variation in the canoes of the later periods is focused more on the introduction of metal tools than on any significant stylistic changes. Native American dugouts were so well-adapted that many Europeans adopted them for their own use in the meandering rivers of the inland Southeast. Unfortunately, the dugout canoe went the way of most other Native American adaptations, eventually succumbing to the pressures of the invading culture and fading almost entirely from the Southeast.