A Late Woodland paddle in association with a dugout canoe from Cape Porpoise, Maine, USA

Abstract

Abstract In 2019, Professional archaeologists and volunteers of the Cape Porpoise Archaeological Alliance (CPAA) excavated and recovered the remains of a dugout canoe that was located during a surface survey of the Cape Porpoise tidal flats in Kennebunkport, Maine. A sample of the canoe dated to between AD 1275 and 1380 making it the oldest known from the region. Three days later, a CPAA citizen scientist returned to the site and recovered the remains of a paddle that carbon dated to a time that is contemporaneous to the canoe. A report of a later Woodland period dugout canoe from Cape Porpoise, Maine, USA was published in 2020 providing new insight into pre-Contact watercraft technology in the Far Northeast and emphasizing the promise of citizen science initiatives for identifying and recovering delicate archaeological materials that are exposed and under threat from rapidly changing coastlines. This is an addendum to that report that offers additional and supporting information.