Multi-Instrument Sub-Bottom SONAR Surveys in Lake Huron: Results and Paths Forward

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Hunting for Hunters, Underwater: Results and Future Directions for Submerged Ancient Sites" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Over the course of two preliminary field seasons in 2023 and 2024, sub-bottom SONAR surveys in Lake Huron have uncovered a series of previously unknown stratified deposits and resonance signatures indicating the presence possible paleoenvironmental records and submerged archaeological sites, respectively. These surveys, based out of Alpena, Michigan, implemented an Edgetech 3100p topside and two sub-bottom profiler towfish instruments, sweeping the 4-24 and 2-16 kHz spectrums, respectively. This paper will review the deposits identified as well as their potential relation to early, prehistoric lake stands including Nipissing and Stanley, with a focus on identifying the locations most suitable for continued geoarchaeological prospection.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Hunting for Hunters, Underwater: Results and Future Directions for Submerged Ancient Sites

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 51236