The “Dufuna boat” is about 4000 years older than the oldest boat found in Egypt. The 8000 year old black mahogany dugout found in the region of Lake Chad, in the Land of Noah.
Kanemi Empire of Bornu
The flood of Noah likely occurred during the late Holocent Wet Period which lasted from about 10,000 to 3000 B.C. During the peak of the rainy period, around 8000, Mega-Chad would have covered 157,000 square miles. The surrounding land was spongy and there was great flooding at the confluence of the Niger, Benue, Yobe and Osimili Rivers. The floodwaters created a disaster of such proportions that it is still remembered. Rainbows would have been a common sight over the region due to rising mists.
In the ancient world, regional chiefs controlled rivers, lakes and wells from west central Africa to the Indus River Valley. The region where Lake Chad is located is called “Bor-no”, the “Land of Noah”, suggesting that Noah controlled the water commerce in the area. As a chief he would have had access to the best and the most plentiful supply of boat building materials and shipwrights.
Since the worst flooding occurred about 8500 years ago we can assume that Noah ruled this region at that time. Noah was a figure of such importance that a great portion of the Genesis Prehistory pertains to him. We are told that the land of Noah was tilled and there were grape vines. In the late 1980s, German archaeologists found remains of wine making equipment in the tomb of the ancient Nubian king Scorpion I (dating to about 3150 BC). That find consisted of grape seeds, grape skins, dried pulp and imported ceramic jars covered inside with a yellow residue chemically consistent with wine. Ancient Egyptian murals depict details of wine-making. Egyptians flavored their wines with tree resins, herbs, and figs.
An oracle concerning Noah states, “This one shall bring us relief from our work and the toil of our hands.” (Genesis 5:29) We are also told that Noah was drunk with wine on at least one occasion.
Many factors caused population migration from the area of Bor-No. The region suffered the effects of a massive volcanic explosion on the floor of the Dead Sea. The eruption caused earthquakes and likely more severe flooding. The loss of life and homesteads among the peoples living in the southern edge of Lake Chad was apparently great and archeaologists report that the area shows no evidence or rehabitation for at least 200 years.
Doubtless the territories of the lake region declined in power and influence as a result of the Monsoon Belt moved more to the south and the desert began to encroach. This caused people to move toward the Nile and the center of political power moved from central west Africa to eastern Sudan, Egypt and Canaan.
