Ancient, moss-covered canoe found in Alaska forest

Reuters via YahooNews/AP ^ | Jul 14, 2011 | staff reporter

[Daffynition]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters Life!) - An unfinished Indian canoe, apparently abandoned 500 years ago, has been discovered in a remote section of an Alaska rain forest, according to officials.

The canoe, carved from cedar, was discovered under a thick layer of moss and is surrounded by trees that are several hundred years old, Sealaska Corp., the Alaska Native corporation that owns the land, said in a statement.

The artifact was first spotted last winter by a surveyor checking potential timber-harvest sites, but the discovery was kept confidential until now, the company said.

[GreenHornet]

Markings found on the side of the canoe indicate that it was a rental, leading archaeologists to conclude that someone owes a ton of money for not returning it on time.

[skeptoid]

. . .And where's the nearest river??

That would be the Karta River about 8 miles west, but irrelevant because Kasaan is on the shore of the Pacific Ocean.

[Sacajaweau]

My problem is "Why was it abandoned?"

And why isn't the canoe TOTALLY filled in with debris??

[Sacajaweau]

Cedar has a chemical to it which preserves it and is wjy it is used for fences etc. Generally, once the tree is downed, it is only good for about 100 years and deterioration begins.

I know we treated our cedar posts before we put them in the ground.

[Hot Tabasco]

And where's the nearest river??

That was the exact last question asked by the original builders.... That's why it's still there and why it was never finished......

[skeptoid]

Kassan at low tide.

More pics at the link.

[Sacajaweau]

Thanks...Wish we had the canoe in perspective.

[muawiyah]

Not all that long ago an ancient grave was uncovered in Alaska that turned out to have the partially cremated body of an infant. That find turned out to be 11,500 years old. See: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/02/25/archaeologists-11500-year-old-oldest-grave-north-america/

[muawiyah]

Everybody knows Korea has some ancient habitation sites, but Alaska has some too. In fact, several years back a habitation site (with heat under the platform) typical of those found in Korea was found in Alaska. It was several thousand years older than anything in Korea.

There's currently concern that RICE may have first been cultivated in SW Alaska or maybe the Aleutians, and then taken from there to the Asian mainland.

I know some of this stuff sounds like the Australian finds where EVERYTHING is older there than anywhere else ~ which is like the Russian finds that cut stone and villages are older there than anywhere else.

And so they are!

[muawiyah]

Aleuts built a village next to Fort Ross in California ~ beating the Mexicans to the place by a good 38 years eh!

[bitterohiogunclinger]

Not to mention somebody owes 500 years worth of registration fees for this watercraft.

[Bean Counter]

Very cool find, and smart move on their part to keep the find quiet until it could be properly examined and possibly recovered...

[JoeProBono]

[panaxanax]

>”...it (Cedar, Western Red) is only good for about 100 years and deterioration begins.”<

You are correct, there is no way this is 500 years old.

[Nabber]

This has been in my closet for what it seems like 500 years.

[muawiyah]

You are much further North. Things are different. In any case, Red Cedar ain’t the onliest one. Try this: http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_1/chamaecyparis/nootkatensis.htm

[muawiyah]

http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_1/chamaecyparis/nootkatensis.htm May be a different species called Alaskan Yellow Cedar

[Sacajaweau]

http://www.seattlepi.com/default/article/Canoe-carver-is-on-a-journey-of-peace-1094662.php#page-1

[skeptoid]

. . . . May be a different species chttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Passage#British_Columbia_portionalled Alaskan Yellow Cedar

Not

Yellow Cedar is not suited for dugout canoes because it does not EVER reach the large diameter required for dugout construction of a vessel 30 to 40 feet and longer. Red Cedar grows to large diameters and is much more easily carved and bends quite well.

The canoes of the Inside Passage were used on salt water (Pacific Ocean)and esturaries, never on fast water and were large and heavy ocean-going vessels that traveled as far south as Puget Sound, and in at least one instance, California.

This example from Canadian Haidas was 63' long.

[Sacajaweau]

Thanks for the info...

I think when they uncover the whole thing and really take a good look, they're going to find something much different from what they are advertising. I do not believe it is 500 years old nor that it was made by indigenous people.