9000 year old caribou hunting structure beneath Lake Huron

An article detailing the discovery of a 9,000-year-old caribou hunting drive lane under Lake Huron appears in (the Apr. 28, 2014) issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“The main feature, called Drop 45 Drive Lane, is the most complex hunting structure found to date beneath the Great Lakes. Constructed on level limestone bedrock, the stone lane is comprised of two parallel lines of stones leading toward a cul-de-sac formed by the natural cobble pavement. Three circular hunting blinds are built into the stone lines, with additional stone alignments that may have served as blinds and obstructions for corralling caribou…”

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2014-04-prehistoric-caribou-beneath-lake-huron.html#jCp

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

1.      John M. O’Shea^a,¹, 

2.      Ashley K. Lemke^a, 

3.      Elizabeth P. Sonnenburg^a, 

4.      Robert G. Reynolds^b, and

5.      Brian D. Abbott^c

Author Affiliations

1.        Edited by Bruce D. Smith, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, and approved April 8, 2014 (received for review March 7, 2014)

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.

http://www.pnas.org/content/111/19/6911