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Ancient Underwater Hunting Structures Found Nine-thousand-year-old structures reveal seasonal hunting strategies and social cooperation.
University of Michigan
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rchaeologists recently discovered the remains of 9,000-yearold caribou hunting structures deep in Lake Huron, about 35 miles southeast of Alpena, Michigan. The structures, which are some of the oldest of their type to be discovered, provide evidence of the seasonal hunting strategies and social cooperation of early people in the Great Lakes Region, according to John O’Shea, an archaeologist with the University of Michigan who directed the research. The structures are located on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge that formed a land bridge between Michigan and Ontario, Canada 10,000 to 7,000 years ago. Researchers said the ridge would have been a natural route for caribou during their spring and fall migrations before it was submerged. One of the structures, called the Drop 45 Drive Lane, consists of two parallel lines of stones, roughly 300-feet long and 90-feet wide, that were used to funnel the caribou into a kill zone. Three circular stone blinds, from which hunters could take aim on their prey, were built into the lines. Pieces of chipped chert and evidence of tool repairing have been found near the blind sites, said archaeologist Ashley Lemke, a graduate student working on the project. The archaeologists dated the structures by radiocarbon testing associated wood. Although similar
american archaeology
A diver, assisted by a remote-operated vehicle, collects samples from the site.
structures are still used to hunt caribou in the Arctic, they rarely survive intact in temperate climates, Lemke said. “This site and its associated artifacts, along with environmental and simulation studies, suggest that Late Paleo-Indian/Early Archaic caribou hunters employed distinctly different seasonal approaches,” O’Shea said. For example, the Drop 45 Drive Lane was used in the spring when the caribou were migrating north. Lemke said it would have taken about 10 to 12 people to channel the caribou into the lane and toward the hunters stationed along the route. Several V-shaped blinds discovered upslope from the drive lane were used
when the caribou were migrating south during the fall. They could have been operated by smaller groups who relied on the natural shape of the landform to channel caribou toward them. The discoveries provide evidence of what the people knew about animal behavior and their environment, Lemke said.“It’s a snapshot of what it was like 9,000 years ago.” Due to the depth of the site, which is 121 feet beneath the surface, the archaeologists employed sonar and a remote operated vehicle in their investigation. Their findings were published in the April issue of The Proceedings of the Academy of Science. —Paula Neely
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