Dufuna Canoe
Dufuna Dugout · Birnin Dufuna
Early Holocene (6550 BCE)·Early Holocene Saharan fisher–hunters (Lake Mega-Chad)·🇳🇬 Yobe State, Nigeria
About
About Dufuna Canoe
Dufuna Canoe is an 8.4-m dugout canoe excavated 1987 from 5 m deep Komadugu Gana floodplain, dated 6556/6384 cal BCE (8500±300 BP), oldest boat in Africa and third oldest worldwide, predating Egyptian Khufu boat by 4,000 years. Hewn from Khaya senegalensis (African mahogany) with fire and polished adze. Preserved anoxic peat, buried in lacustrine muds. Documents Saharan palaeolake Mega-Chad fishing economy Early Holocene.
Why it mattersOldest African boat; Holocene Mega-Chad lacustrine economy proof.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Tree sourcing 20 km distant
- 02Use fishing vs ritual
Theories
- 01Mega-Chad fishing expansion model (Breunig)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 6550 BCE canoe hewn
- Period
- Early Holocene (6550 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Holocene Saharan fisher–hunters (Lake Mega-Chad)
- Builders
- Early Holocene lake fishers
- Purpose
- Fishing and lake transport on Mega-Chad tributary
- Excavation
- Excavated
6556 BCE
Canoe hewn from mahogany
6400 BCE
Buried in lake muds
1987
Excavated by Breunig/Usman
2001
Radiocarbon published 8500 BP
On the ground
Structures & features
12.6210° N · 10.7730° E · 350 m · 2 mapped features
Canoe Pit
pit5-m deep pit where canoe found
12.6220° N · 10.7740° EKomadugu Gana Paleochannel
paleochannelPaleolake channel of Lake Mega-Chad
12.6200° N · 10.7720° E