The First Canoes

The first canoe is said to have come from South America over 8,000 years ago. The word canoe originated from the word 'Kenu' meaning dugout. The first canoes were made out of dugout tree trunks, but animal skins were later added to make them more lightweight. The canoe was used to transport food, but was later used for trading.

When European explorers came to North America, they were astonished at these canoes. At this stage, the North Americans had changed the canoes from just dug out trees, to different types of carved wood that was lined with wooden ribs and glued together using glue made from trees. The Europeans decided to use canoes because they were quite handy. The French used canoes for trading and to travel to
Canada and North America.

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