Lake Huron holds 9,000-year-old hunting blinds

A smaller, V-shaped hunting blind sits beneath Lake Huron. The prehistoric sites, along with more complex ones, provide information about how hunters may have worked together to kill caribou and other animals.

Courtesy of John O’Shea/ UMMAA

By Ashley Yeager

April 28, 2014 at 6:41 pm

A complex set of 9,000-year-old hunting blinds sit beneath the surface of what is now Lake Huron. Based on the arrangement of the blinds, it appears that the region’s ancient hunters and their families cooperated to drive caribou, and possibly other game, into a centralized “kill zone.” The discovery, along with other artifacts, provides information about the social and economic organization of the hunters, researchers report April 28 the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The find also suggests that other ancient archaeological sites preserved underwater could lead to a better understanding of humans’ past, the scientists say.