Tools for Building Dugout Canoes

rchaeological evidence found along the sea, lakes and rivers of Atlantic Canada is particularly rich for the period from 3,500 to 4,500 years ago. Port au Choix, Newfoundland, has been a popular site for fishing and hunting sea mammals for many thousands of years. Early peoples possessed elaborate tools for building canoes, which enabled them to travel great distances in order to exploit marine resources.

Heavy woodworking implements found at this site, and at the Twillingate site in Newfoundland, were probably used in the construction of dugout canoes. The disappearance of the gouge, which was used to hollow out logs about 3,500 years ago, may indicate the introduction of a new watercraft technology: the birchbark canoe.