Ashley Lemke

A 9,000-year-old caribou hunting structure beneath Lake Huron.

Significance Some of the most pivotal questions in human history necessitate the investigation of archaeological sites that are now under water. These contexts have unique potentials for preserving ancient sites without disturbance from later human occupation. The Alpena-Amberley Ridge beneath modern Lake Huron in the Great Lakes offers unique evidence of prehistoric caribou hunters for a time period that is very poorly known on land. The newly discovered Drop 45 Drive Lane and associated artifacts presented here provide unprecedented insight into the social and seasonal organization of early peoples in the Great Lakes region, while the interdisciplinary research program provides a model for the archaeological investigation of submerged prehistoric landscapes. 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.

Great Lakes Rangifer and Paleoindians: Archaeological and Paleontological Caribou Remains from Michigan

Abstract It is often argued that Paleoindians in the Great Lakes were targeting caribou as a primary economic resource, but this assertion has been difficult to test since zooarchaeological remains in the region are extremely scarce due to degradation in highly acidic soils. This paper presents new faunal evidence from Michigan including archaeological and paleontological Rangifer specimens (n = 27), and one cervid tooth fragment recovered from a submerged caribou hunting site in Lake Huron. Despite preservation issues, these remains demonstrate that caribou were abundant on the landscape in prehistoric Michigan. Additionally, the distribution of absolute dates on Rangifer remains in the Great Lakes basin reveals that the archaeological and paleontological records in this region are closely tied to dynamic water levels at the end of the Pleistocene. These changing shorelines left critical evidence for understanding this period of dynamic environmental and cultural change submerged beneath the Great Lakes.

The Seasonality of Prehistoric Caribou Hunting in Northeastern North America

ABSTRACT It is widely accepted that caribou were an important resource for Paleoindian economies and lifeways in northeastern North America. The existence of large aggregation sites, such as Bull Brook, further suggests that hunters employed mass capture communal hunting methods for caribou exploitation during their seasonal migrations. As zooarchaeological remains are scarce in this region of acidic soils, site interpretations must often rely on historic or ethnographic analogs to determine the seasonality of these hunts, and on this basis, often predict that communal hunting of caribou took place in the fall. In contrast, new data from underwater sites in Lake Huron provide empirical archaeological evidence for communal hunting and social aggregation in the spring. It is suggested that this divergent pattern of seasonal exploitation is due to distinct paleoenvironment and larger populations of caribou at the end of the Pleistocene – resulting in unique hunting and social strategies seen only in the past.

Using agent-based modeling and cultural algorithms to predict the location of submerged ancient occupational sites

Some of the most pivotal questions in human history, such as the origins of early human culture, the spread of hominids out of Africa, and the colonization of New World necessitate the investigation of archaeological sites that are now under water. These contexts have unique potentials 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 offers unique evidence of prehistoric caribou hunters for a time period that is very poorly known on land.