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Glacial lake levels and Eastern Great Lakes Palaeo‐Indians
Author(s) -
Jackson Lawrence J.,
Ellis Christopher,
Morgan Alan V.,
McAndrews John H.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.696
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1520-6548
pISSN - 0883-6353
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6548(200006)15:5<415::aid-gea2>3.0.co;2-2
Subject(s) - glacial period , glacial lake , geology , physical geography , oceanography , paleontology , geography
This article investigates changing lake levels in the late Pleistocene eastern Great Lakes in order to gain insights into the Early Palaeo‐Indian occupations. Significant new information bearing on lake level history is provided, notably the first well‐documented deposits of a high water level above modern in the ca. 11,000–10,300 B.P. period in the southern Lake Huron basin. The lake level information, along with paleoenvironmental and site data, reinforces site age estimates to the 11th millennium B.P.; suggests significant numbers of sites have been inundated by rising water levels; provides specific information on the setting of archaeological sites such as placing the Parkhill site adjacent to a large lake estuary; indicates reasons for the attractiveness of shorelines to Palaeo‐Indians including persistence of more open areas conducive to higher game productivity; and points to ideal areas for future archaeological site survey, particularly in the Lake Erie drainage. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.