| Dufuna canoe | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Dugout canoe |
| Material | Scots pine[citation needed] |
| Size | Length: 8.4 meters Width: 50 cm |
| Created | c. 6250 BC |
| Discovered | 4 May 1987 Dufuna,Yobe,Nigeria |
| Discovered by | Mallam Ya'u |
| Present location | Damaturu,Yobe,Nigeria |
 | |
TheDufuna canoe is the world'ssecond-oldest known boat. It is adugout canoe discovered in 1987 by aFulani cattle herdsman a few kilometers from the village of Dufuna in theFune Local Government Area, not far from theKomadugu Gana River, inYobe State,Nigeria.[1]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 toLake Chad.[2] The canoe is 8.4 metres (28 ft) long and is 0.5 metres (1 ft 8 in) tall at it largest point.[3] It is currently located inDamaturu, Nigeria.[4]
The Dufuna canoe was found in the village ofDufuna, which is located betweenPotiskum andGashua, inYobe 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, theUniversity of Maiduguri carried out an initial exploration of the site to ascertain whether it was a canoe and to take radiocarbon dating samples of the wood.[5]: 5 Later, a joint research project by Professors Peter Breunig and Garba Abubakar — funded by theUniversity of Frankfurt and theUniversity of Maiduguri — would return to the site, further wood samples were taken and dated by two German laboratories.[5]: 5
In 1994, an archaeology team fromGermany and Nigeria excavated the site. The canoe was dug out over two weeks by fifty labourers and was found to be 8.4 meters in length, 50 centimeters wide and 5 cm thick.[5]: 5–6 The canoe was found in a waterlogged state resting on a sandy bed with layers of clay between it and the surface protecting 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 thatLake 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
The canoe has been radiocarbon-dated at least twice, and was dated to 6556-6388 BCE and to 6164-6005 BCE,[3] making it the oldest known boat in Africa and (after thePesse canoe) the second-oldest worldwide.[3][4] It was probably created in a longstanding boat-making tradition and used in fishing along theKomadugu Gana River.[3] It may have been constructed by members of a population group who occupied an area extending from the westernSahara to theNile of centralSudan and to northernKenya.[3]
