Archaeologists Discover 3,800-Year-Old Underwater Vegetable Garden

Piece by piece, archaeologists are discovering evidence of creative engineering techniques practiced by innovative ancient peoples. One such example is making archaeological news headlines – the discovery of a 3800-year-old wetland garden in British Columbia, Canada. This interesting find provides the first direct archaeological evidence of nondomestic plant management in mid-to-late Holocene peoples of the Northwest Coast. It has also provided local First Nations people with a bittersweet connection to their ancient ancestors.

Humans have used a variety a means to manipulate the environment around them. Although some are certainly more destructive than others, the desire to modify the environment and enhance survival is an age-old tale. Countless innovative techniques that were used to aid humanity, while leaving little negative impact on nature, have been lost to modern society. However, the recent discovery in the Pitt Polder wetlands of British Columbia is providing new information on these kinds of activities.

As Live Science reports, archaeologists discovered 3,767 whole and fragmented wapato tubers in a man-made underwater garden. By using tightly-packed, uniformly-sized rocks to create a foundation, the people living in that area were able to stop the plants from growing too far underground, making harvesting easier.