A graphic illustration shows the stretch of land between southern Ontario and northeastern lower Michigan called the Alpena-Amberley Ridge.Image courtesy of Aaron Martin
Posted on 01/07/2025 8:16:30 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Fathoms beneath present-day Lake Huron, early Americans once stood on dry land, hunting caribou as the animals migrated between southern Ontario and northeastern lower Michigan.
A team led by University of Michigan researchers drew international attention when they announced those findings a decade ago, after discovering rock arrangements indicative of prehistoric hunting camps on a lake bottom ridge.
But far less fanfare has followed the scientists in years since, as they've pieced together an increasingly clear picture of life 10,000 years ago in the now-submerged subarctic grassland...
They've discovered fragments of tools that look nothing like other Great Lakes artifacts from a similar time period. They've found ancient trees -- roots still intact -- at the bottom of the lake. They located peat bogs where seeds have been preserved by the lake's cold, fresh water.
And importantly, they've developed a template for doing prehistoric research underwater -- one that will soon be put to use elsewhere in the Great Lakes...
O'Shea's team began exploring the ridge in 2008, using sonar, remote-operated vehicles and eventually human divers. They found stone hunting blinds, a boulder pathway used to herd caribou toward waiting hunters, and stone flakes leftover from spear point repair projects.
(Excerpt) Read more at bridgemi.com ...
A graphic illustration shows the stretch of land between southern Ontario and northeastern lower Michigan called the Alpena-Amberley Ridge.Image courtesy of Aaron Martin
Thanks Red Badger.
Human divers, brr!
Actually Lake O. isn’t too bad, rarely ices over. I think the first to swim across was Marilyn Bell (and afaik she’s still alive).
Please add me to list. Thank you!
Quick! Have President Trump buy it before Canada can claim it! ;)
“...stone flakes leftover from spear point repair projects.”
My in-laws had a lovely pond on their property, which was a few farms over from mine. On low-water years, we found a lot of arrowheads and ‘repairs’ like this as the shoreline shifted.
Just standing there, in the sunset and the QUIET was a holy experience; you just KNEW the place was once ‘home’ to Native Americans. Very magical.
I felt the need to put in a plug for 'The Detectorists' for those who have not seen this awesome TV series. ;)
All they need is a little more money to complete their investigation.
Bookmark
Before the flood(s).
Hippies used the ring pulls to make doorway curtains.
We used to make chains of them when I was a kid. My Milwaukee family drank a lot of pull-tab Pabst Blue Ribbon, LOL!
I also remember folding gum wrappers to make bracelets. Yet another Lost Art. *SIGH* ;)
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Some would say that the 5 minutes are wasted. Others would not. 
Always wanted to score a PBR tavern sign from Cheeseland...
:^)
Lake Huron was a fisherman’s paradise in the 80s. I nearly caught a largemouth bass that I could stick my head in it’s mouth. I lost it at the boat when my buddy hung the net in the oarlock. He earned the title of “Pike Bait” after that. We saw an enormous Pike jump completely out of the water that must have been over 5 feet long.
I’ve noticed that same anomaly in southern Ohio where concentration of artifacts are often found near small isolated boulders.
I really enjoyed that show.
I’ll bet you could find one on eBay. :)
Boondoggle was fun...we all had whistles, pen knives, marbles and comic books in those days.
I never thought about natives being displaced by the rising waters of the Great Lakes. There must be a shiite load of archaeology there.
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