It is easy to overlook, or forget, that the glacial periods had so much water locked up in ice that considerably more territory was available to prehistoric humans. Not only at continental margins, but where large lakes now exist, land was exposed and, no doubt, lived on and utilized by the populations. With the last melting of glacial ice this water was released and raised water levels considerably. This means, of course, that many traces of prehistoric life and activities are now underwater.
“Some of the most pivotal questions in human prehistory necessitate the investigation of archaeological sites that are now under water. The advance and retreat of glacial ice throughout the period of human development and dispersal, and the associated global changes in sea level, repeatedly exposed, and then submerged, significant coastal land masses. As a result, questions as diverse as the origins of early human culture, the spread of hominids out of Africa, and the colonization of the New World all hinge on evidence that is under water. Although the discovery and investigation of such sites presents methodological challenges, these contexts also have unique potential for preserving ancient sites without disturbance from later human occupation. The Alpena-Amberley Ridge (AAR) beneath modern Lake Huron in the North American Great Lakes provides just such a setting.” (O’Shea, et al. 2014:6911)
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During the last glaciations, before the birth of the Great Lakes, paleoIndian hunters roamed the area and left traces of their existence. “Since 2008, more than 60 stone constructions on the AAR have been identified and visually inspected within two targeted research areas. Targets of potential interest identified during acoustic survey are examined via video provided by a remote operated vehicle (ROV) and, if warranted, are directly mapped and sampled by self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (scuba)-trained archaeologists.” (O’Shea, et al. 2014:6911) These investigations are now made possible by the development of the new technologies.
“Underwater archaeologists have discovered evidence of prehistoric caribou hunts that provide unprecedented insight into the social and seasonal organization of early peoples in the Great Lakes Region. An article detailing the discovery of a 9,000-year-old caribou hunting drive lane under Lake Huron appears in today’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. ‘This site and its associated artifacts, along with environmental and simulation studies, suggest that Late Paleoindian/Early Archaic caribou hunters employed distinctly different seasonal approaches,’ said John O’Shea, the Emerson F. Greenman Professor of Anthropological Archaeology and lead author of the article. ‘In autumn, small groups carried out the caribou hunts, and in spring, larger groups of hunters cooperated.” (Swanbrow 2014)
Although a
low stone wall could have been easily crossed by the game animals, the
appearance of such artificial features on the landscape seemingly make the
animal uneasy, they tend to turn aside and parallel such a wall instead of
crossing over. The high-altitude Rocky Mountain archaeologist James Benedict
once told me about watching a deer approach a linear stone feature on Rollins
Pass in the Colorado Rockies. Although the stone line is basically only one
stone high nowadays the deer turned aside instead of crossing it. (Benedict,
Personal communication, 1987)
“Researchers based at the University of Michigan think the roughly 9,000-year-old structure helped natives corral caribou herds migrating across what was then an exposed land-corridor – the so-called Alpena-Amberly Ridge – connecting northeast Michigan to southern Ontario. The area is now covered by 120 feet (37 meters) of water, but at the time, was exposed due to dry conditions of the last ice age.” (LiveScience Staff 2014)
“Paleoenvironmental analysis indicates that the area was a subarctic environment consisting of sphagnum moss, tamarack larch and spruce trees, along with small lakes, rivers, and wetlands. Radiocarbon dates on preserved wood yielded dates from 8,900–8,640 cal B.P., whereas charcoal recovered from the middle of a circle of small stones yielded a date of 9,020 cal B.P. The environment that emerges from these studies is one that would have been ideal for migrating caribou and for their human pursuers”. (O’Shea, et al. 2014:6911) I find it remarkable that we even have these hard dates for these features. Wonderful work.
NOTE: Some images in this posting were retrieved from the internet with a search for public domain photographs. If any of these images are not intended to be public domain, I apologize, and will happily provide the picture credits if the owner will contact me with them. For further information on these reports you should read the original reports at the sites listed below.
REFERENCES:
Benedict, James, 1987, Personal communication.
LiveScience Staff, 2014, In Photos: Hunting Structure Hidden Beneath Lake Huron, 28 April 2014, https://www.livescience.com. Accessed online 6 May 2024.
O’Shea, John M., et al., 2014, A 9,000-year-old caribou hunting structure beneath Lake Huron, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), 13 May 2014, Vol. 111, No. 19, 6911-15. Accessed online 6 May 2024.
Swanbrow, Diane, 2014, Prehistoric caribou hunting structure found beneath Lake Huron, 28
April 2014, https://record.umich.edu.
Accessed online 6 May 2024.
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