The 700-Year-Old Guth Dugout: From Arkansas to Cahokia

Summary

This is an abstract from the "What’s Canoe? Recent Research on Dugouts" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Guth dugout is named for the finder Matt Guth, who found the dugout on a sandbar in a meander portion of the St. Francois River in 2008. The dugout was exposed after floodwaters receded and due to the find location, Guth was determined to be the rightful owner. The dugout was over 6 m long and in remarkable shape given its age. In 2009, the ownership of the dugout was transferred to a group of concerned citizens and board members of the Illinois State Archaeological Society who in turn donated the craft to Cahokia Mounds. In this paper we provide highlights concerning the discovery, recovery, acquisition, transportation, preservation, and installation of the dugout into an exhibit in the museum. We also discuss evidence of manufacturing techniques and how the overall design affected the crafts maneuverability and speed on the water.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• What’s Canoe? Recent Research on Dugouts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 38308.0