A 9,000-year-old caribou hunting structure beneath Lake Huron.
Some of the most pivotal questions in human history necessitate the investigation of archaeological sites that are now under water. Nine thousand years ago, the Alpena-Amberley Ridge (AAR) beneath modern Lake Huron was a dry land corridor that connected northeast Michigan to southern Ontario. The newly discovered Drop 45 Drive Lane is the most complex hunting structure found to date beneath the Great Lakes. The site and its associated artifacts provide unprecedented insight into the social and seasonal organization of prehistoric caribou hunting. When combined with environmental and simulation studies, it is suggested that distinctly different seasonal strategies were used by early hunters on the AAR, with autumn hunting being carried out by small groups, and spring hunts being conducted by larger groups of cooperating hunters.
Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109; joshea@umich.edu.
John M
JM
O'Shea
Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;
Ashley K
AK
Lemke
Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109;
Elizabeth P
EP
Sonnenburg
Department of Computer Science, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202; and.
Robert G
RG
Reynolds
Nautilus Marine Group International, LLC, Haslett, MI 48840.
Brian D
BD
Abbott
D025041:Animal Migration; D000818:Animals; D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D003198:Computer Simulation; D017753:Ecosystem; D006114:Great Lakes Region; D006802:Human Activities; D006801:Humans; D060106:Lakes; D008460:Meat; D008824:Michigan; D012053:Reindeer
hunter–gatherer subsistence; underwater archaeology; virtual world simulation