The recent discovery of a series of cached dugout canoes in Lake Mendota (Madison, Wisconsin) demonstrates that water transportation extends back thousands of years and adds evidence to use of Wisconsin's inland waterways as transportation corridors to collect resources since the region was first occupied.

Learn about the discovery, recovery, documentation, and preservation of the Lake Mendota dugout canoes. Understand how these canoes have led to a reinvestigation of the region's climate and lake levels more than 3,000 years ago. Discover how these canoes give us a greater understanding of Wisconsin's prehistoric maritime landscape and the people who lived in this region.