A new lidar survey of Michigan's Upper Peninsula revealed evidence of extensive farming by Native Americans that has stunned archaeologists, according to a statement released by Dartmouth College. The region's climate and short growing season has traditionally made it a difficult area for farming. However, researchers studying the Sixty Islands archaeological site near the Menominee River detected a huge network of raised garden beds spread across 330 acres, where the ancestors of the Menominee Tribe used to grow crops such as corn, beans, and squash. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal uncovered during preliminary excavations indicates that the agricultural system was used...