“Nobody Knows the way of the Caribou”: Rangifer hunting at 45 North Latitude

While caribou hunting structures are well known in the circumpolar region, equivalent features are difficult to investigate further south due to significant changes in sea level and subsequent human activity. The discovery of hunting structures on submerged landforms beneath modern Lake Huron provides a new window into caribou hunting in the mid-latitudes. This paper summarizes current findings and considers both the strategies for hunting caribou and the necessary organizational implications for such activities on the Alpena-Amberley Ridge. It is shown that many of the features known in the circumpolar region are also present in the mid-latitudes, but that significant differences are also observed. Many of these differences seem attributable to the seasonal migration of vast caribou herds across the causeway-like setting of the Alpena-Amberley Ridge. 2013 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. Nobody knows the way of the wind and the caribou. Chipewyan proverb (Heard, 1997: 29)