Dugout

Unknown
Dugout
Mid-1400s
Wood (white pine)

Photo Courtesy of Wry Photography

This dugout was found in Great Pond in South Weymouth in 1965. A drought had caused the pond to dry up, revealing the dugout preserved in the mud. “Dugout” is a general term that refers to a boat that is made from hollowed logs. Creating a dugout is a painstaking process that involves hollowing out a log with carefully controlled fire, then chipping and scraping away the wood.

Carbon dating and other testing done at the time of this dugout’s discovery indicate that it dates from the mid-1400s. It is unknown who exactly made this dugout, but at that time, the Massachusett and Wampangoag tribes lived in the area now known as the South Shore. The Wampanoag word for this type of boat is mishoon.

Historical dugouts are rare, since wood naturally deteriorates over time. This dugout, like many that have been found intact, was preserved by the mud in which it was found. This type of anaerobic (without oxygen) environment prevents the deterioration of the wood. It was common for dugouts like this one to be stored for the winter by submerging them and weighing them down with rocks. This helped protect the boat from ice and changing temperatures. While specific environmental conditions preserved this dugout for hundreds of years, it is now kept in a climate-controlled environment.

Sources

"Dugout." Britannica Library, Encyclopædia Britannica, 11 January 2011. https://library.eb.com/levels/referencecenter/article/dugout/31382. Accessed 1 December 2020.

“Historic Patuxet.”  Plimoth Patuxet. https://www.plimoth.org/explore/historic-patuxet. Accessed 4 December 2020.

Kevitt, Chester B. “Aboriginal Dugout Discovered at Weymouth.” Bulletin of the Massachusetts Archeological Society, vol. 30, no. 1, 1968, pages 1-5.  

The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag. “Our History.” The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag. http://massachusetttribe.org/our-history . Accessed 4 December 2020.

Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. “Reclaiming the Waterways: Mission Mishoon – The Dugout Canoe of the Pequots.” Google Arts & Culture.     https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/reclaiming-the-waterways-the-m.... Accessed 4 December 2020.

“Mission Muhshoon Launch.” Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. http://www.pequotmuseum.org/Nookumuhs/. Accessed 4 December 2020.

Woods, Cedric J. “Native Americans in Massachusetts: New Homecomings and Ongoing Displacements.” Boston Indicators. https://www.bostonindicators.org/-/media/indicators/boston-indicators-re.... Accessed 4 December 2020.