Post by Okwes on Mar 7, 2008 14:20:40 GMT -5
Old Indian dugout at Fernbank 'one in a million'
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/01/08
A Waycross man went fishing in a South Georgia river two years ago and caught a 17-footer. It goes on display today at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
The catch is a dugout canoe, possibly created more than 300 years ago from a longleaf pine. It turned up in the shallows of the Satilla River one July day in 2006 when a fisherman noticed something odd just underneath his johnboat. What looked like an old log turned out to be a canoe, formed by fire and hand. It is one of just a handful of dugouts known to exist in Georgia.
'It was the minivan of its time,' says Fernbank archaeologist Dennis Blanton of the Native American dugout canoe. A fisherman uncovered the one above, now on display at the museum.
IF YOU GO
The Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road N.E. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free, members; $15, adults; $14, students and seniors; $13, ages 3-12; free, children younger than 3. 404-929-6300, www.fernbankmuseum.org.
The canoe, which dates to approximately 1680-1740, is part of Fernbank's "First Georgians" exhibition on Native American objects.
Fernbank archaeologist Dennis Blanton called the canoe the "minivan of its time."
"It's a no-nonsense mode of transportation," said Blanton, the museum's curator of Native American archaeology. "It could hold a family, the groceries and a dog."
Fisherman Josh Landon knew there was something different about the log when he spied it on a fishing trip almost two years ago. He and a pal had slid his johnboat in the Satilla, which was low. They headed upstream and planned to drift back, casting thimble-size spinners for "anything that would bite."
The day was hot and the fishing slow. Landon had given up trying to catch anything and was looking in the water when something in the 2-foot depths caught his eye — the flared tip of a log. It formed a basin filled with sand. Landon poked at it, scraping away sand with his paddle.
Then, moving the boat forward, he came to the other end — it, too, filled with sand. "I said, 'Daggone, that looks like an old dugout canoe,' " said Landon, 53.
It didn't take Landon long to realize that he had come across something unusual. He returned with his son and covered the site with bramble, hoping to hide the canoe until someone could retrieve it. He contacted a Ware County judge, asking for help in finding someone to take the dugout. The judge called an academic friend, who promised to help. A state Department of Natural Resources archaeologist visited the site, confirming what Landon already knew: The Satilla had yielded a prize.
The river wound through land belonging to Rayonier Inc., an international forest-products company. When Rayonier officials learned about the ancient canoe on their property, they agreed to donate it to Fernbank, which had offered to preserve the dugout and put it on display.
In early 2007, the canoe, cradled in culvert-size PVC pipe, came to Fernbank, where the old craft yielded a surprise of its own. A museum worker reached into a crevice and wrapped her fingers around a reluctant traveler — a catfish. "We talked about having him for lunch," Blanton said.
Since then, the museum has dried out the wood and treated it with preservatives. Now, the craft that may have carried families has a new purpose: educating them.
For Landon, the discovery beats anything he's ever hooked. "It was a one-in-a-million chance" that he discovered the dugout, said Blanton. "I guess it just wanted to be found."
By MARK DAVIS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/01/08
A Waycross man went fishing in a South Georgia river two years ago and caught a 17-footer. It goes on display today at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History.
The catch is a dugout canoe, possibly created more than 300 years ago from a longleaf pine. It turned up in the shallows of the Satilla River one July day in 2006 when a fisherman noticed something odd just underneath his johnboat. What looked like an old log turned out to be a canoe, formed by fire and hand. It is one of just a handful of dugouts known to exist in Georgia.
'It was the minivan of its time,' says Fernbank archaeologist Dennis Blanton of the Native American dugout canoe. A fisherman uncovered the one above, now on display at the museum.
IF YOU GO
The Fernbank Museum of Natural History, 767 Clifton Road N.E. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; noon-5 p.m. Sunday. Free, members; $15, adults; $14, students and seniors; $13, ages 3-12; free, children younger than 3. 404-929-6300, www.fernbankmuseum.org.
The canoe, which dates to approximately 1680-1740, is part of Fernbank's "First Georgians" exhibition on Native American objects.
Fernbank archaeologist Dennis Blanton called the canoe the "minivan of its time."
"It's a no-nonsense mode of transportation," said Blanton, the museum's curator of Native American archaeology. "It could hold a family, the groceries and a dog."
Fisherman Josh Landon knew there was something different about the log when he spied it on a fishing trip almost two years ago. He and a pal had slid his johnboat in the Satilla, which was low. They headed upstream and planned to drift back, casting thimble-size spinners for "anything that would bite."
The day was hot and the fishing slow. Landon had given up trying to catch anything and was looking in the water when something in the 2-foot depths caught his eye — the flared tip of a log. It formed a basin filled with sand. Landon poked at it, scraping away sand with his paddle.
Then, moving the boat forward, he came to the other end — it, too, filled with sand. "I said, 'Daggone, that looks like an old dugout canoe,' " said Landon, 53.
It didn't take Landon long to realize that he had come across something unusual. He returned with his son and covered the site with bramble, hoping to hide the canoe until someone could retrieve it. He contacted a Ware County judge, asking for help in finding someone to take the dugout. The judge called an academic friend, who promised to help. A state Department of Natural Resources archaeologist visited the site, confirming what Landon already knew: The Satilla had yielded a prize.
The river wound through land belonging to Rayonier Inc., an international forest-products company. When Rayonier officials learned about the ancient canoe on their property, they agreed to donate it to Fernbank, which had offered to preserve the dugout and put it on display.
In early 2007, the canoe, cradled in culvert-size PVC pipe, came to Fernbank, where the old craft yielded a surprise of its own. A museum worker reached into a crevice and wrapped her fingers around a reluctant traveler — a catfish. "We talked about having him for lunch," Blanton said.
Since then, the museum has dried out the wood and treated it with preservatives. Now, the craft that may have carried families has a new purpose: educating them.
For Landon, the discovery beats anything he's ever hooked. "It was a one-in-a-million chance" that he discovered the dugout, said Blanton. "I guess it just wanted to be found."