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Public Events --

  Paul Mickey Science Series: The End of an Era? Early Holocene Caribou Hunting Strategies in the Upper Great Lakes   

Image from Paul Mickey Science Series: The End of an Era? Early Holocene Caribou Hunting Strategies in the Upper Great Lakes

Paul Mickey Science Series: The End of an Era? Early Holocene Caribou Hunting Strategies in the Upper Great Lakes

  • Location: ISM Research & Collections Center, Springfield
  • Date: Wednesday, May 13, 2015, 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM

Presented by Dr. John M. O’Shea, Curator of Great Lakes Archaeology, Museum of Anthropological Archaeology, University of Michigan

With the grudging withdrawal of the continental ice sheets at the end of the Pleistocene, the Great Lakes oscillated between higher and lower water levels before stabilizing at modern elevations. The most marked of these oscillations is termed the Lake Stanley low stand in the Lake Huron Basin and lasted from about 9,900-7,500 years ago Before Present. During this time water levels were more than 100 m lower than present, and the Huron Basin was divided into two distinct lakes separated by a rocky outcrop of limestone and dolomite termed the Alpena-Amberley Ridge (AAR). The AAR provided a narrow (10-15 km) causeway linking northern lower Michigan with southern Ontario. Interdisciplinary archaeological and environmental research on the now submerged AAR has demonstrated that the feature was occupied by early Holocene hunters, and that it remained cold and taiga-like much longer than surrounding mainland areas. This provided a refugium for cold-adapted species such as caribou. This presentation will examine what the uniquely preserved finds of the AAR can tell us about Late Paleoindian and Early Archaic hunting practices and society in the Upper Great Lakes.

One of our Paul Mickey Science Series

Discover Illinois' rich prehistoric and historic past by attending an ISM Paul Mickey Science Series Program. A different speaker and topic are featured each month. For more information on upcoming topics and speakers, please contact Nina Walthall at (217) 782-0061 or 217-785-0037.

  • Usually held the second Wednesday of Each Month
  • 7:00 to 8:30 PM
  • Held at the ISM Research & Collections Center, 1011 East Ash Street (enter the building from 10 ½ Street between Ash & Laurel Streets), Springfield, Illinois
  • Free Admission 

For more events at ISM Research & Collections Center.