The 8000-Year-Old Dufuna Canoe
The Dufuna Canoe was found on May 28, 1987 by a local Fulani herdsman, who, in search of pastures, entered one of the barren valleys in the northern Yobe State region of Northern Nigeria. Dufuna is next to the Komadugu Gana River in Yobe State’s Fune local government area.
The boat was located five metres below the surface of the land. It had various changes towards the top and measured 8.4 metres long, 0.5 metres wide, and roughly 5 cm thick. It is said to be the oldest boat in both Africa and the entire world, dating back at least 8000 years (6000 BC).
The boat was successfully removed from the ground in March 1998 due to the efforts and cooperation of archaeologists from German and Nigerian universities.
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The Dufuna Canoe was found water-logged on a sandy base with intermittent intervals of clay and inaccessible to oxygen; circumstances most favourable for most organic materials, as described by Abubakar Garba, an associate professor of archaeology at the Centre for Trans-Saharan Studies, University of Maiduguri in Borno state.
The National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) constructed a museum complex in Damaturu, the capital of Yobe State, where the unearthed canoe is displayed.
This incredible archaeological find has an important position in the rich history of Nigeria and Africa. The canoe’s exquisite form and skillfully crafted bow and stern show off our predecessors’ highest technological prowess and invention levels.
There is reason to think Nigeria is home to more incredible artefacts and archaeological sites waiting to be found and explored. The Dufuna Canoe, however, reveals yet another of the various tourist opportunities our nation, Nigeria, is endowed with.
Have you visited the museum where the Dufuna Canoe is displayed? Make a visit if you haven’t.