Dufuna canoe

Dufuna Canoe is a canoe discovered in 1987 by a Fulani cattle herdsman a few kilometers from the village of Dufuna in the Fune Local Government Area, not far from the Komadugu Gana River, in Yobe State, Nigeria.[1][2] Radiocarbon dating of a sample of charcoal found near the site dates the canoe at 8,500 to 8,000 years old, linking the site to Lake Mega Chad.[3] The canoe is 8 metres (26 ft) long.[4]

Background

The Dufuna Canoe was found in the village of Dufuna that lies between Potiskum and Gashua, Yobe State.[5]^:5 On 4 May 1987, Mallam Ya'u, a Fulani cow herdsman was digging a well and hit a hard object at 4.5 meters.[5]^:5 He informed his village chief about the discovery.[5]^:5

In 1989 and 1990, the University of Maiduguri carried out an initial exploration of the site to ascertain whether it was a canoe as well take radiocarbon dating samples of the wood.[5]^:5 Later, in a joint research project funded by the University of Frankfurt and Maiduguri by Professors Peter Breunig and Garba Abubakar, would return to the site and further wood samples were taken and dated by two German laboratories.[5]^:5

In 1994, an archaeology team from Germany and Nigeria excavated the site and the canoe was dug out over two weeks by fifty labourers and was found to be 8.4 meters in length, 0.5 meters wide and 5cm thick.[5]^:5–6 The canoe was found in a water logged state resting on a sandy bed while layers of clay lay between it and the surface which protected it in an oxygen free environment.[5]^:5 Examination of the canoe showed that the bow and stern had been skilfully worked to points and that the work was carried out by "core axe-like and pick-axe bifacial tools of micro-lithic appearance".[5]^:8 Professor Breunig said that the skill of construction showed a long development and that the canoe was not a new design.[5]^:9 In another study by an American science team in 2015, they found that Lake Chad had shrunk by 95% in forty years and therefore it could be assumed that area of the village of Dufuna would have been part of the lake's flood plain in the distant past.[5]^:6–7

It is the oldest boat to be discovered in Africa, and the second oldest known worldwide.[6] The canoe is currently in Damaturu, the state capital.[6]

See also

• Traditional fishing boats
• List of oldest ships

References

1. Garba, Abubakar (1996). "The architecture and chemistry of a dug-out: the Dufuna Canoe in ethno-archaeological perspective". Berichte des Sonderforschungsbereichs. 268 (8): 193–200.
2. Ujorha, Tadaferua O. (16 September 2002). "Nigeria: Dufuna Canoe: a Bridge Across 8,000 Years". Daily Trust. Abuja. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
3. Gumnior, Maren; Thiemeyer, Heinrich (2003). "Holocene fluvial dynamics in the NE Nigerian Savanna". Quaternary International. 111: 54. doi:10.1016/s1040-6182(03)00014-4.
4. "Africa's oldest boat set for exhibit in Nigeria". Africa Times. 6 April 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
5. Adewumi, Afolasade A (2014). "Dufuna Canoe Find: Birthing the Underwatercultural Heritage In Nigeria". University of Ibadan Journal of Public and International Law. 4: 1–12 – via Academia.edu.
6. Richard Trillo (16 June 2008). "Nigeria Part 3:14.5 the north and northeast Maiduguri". The Rough Guide to West Africa. Rough Guides. pp. (pages are unnumbered). ISBN 978-1-4053-8070-6.