Summer Island Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Summer Island Site
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 Location in Michigan
Location in the United States
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| Location | Northwest side of Summer Island, Michigan |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| NRHP reference No. | 71000388 |
| Added to NRHP | September 3, 1971 |
The Summer Island Site, also known as 20DE4, is an exciting archaeological site found on the northwest side of Summer Island in Michigan. An archaeological site is a place where people lived or did things a long time ago, and we can find clues about their lives there.
This site is special because it's "stratified," meaning it has different layers, like a cake. Each layer shows a different time period when people lived there. It's also "multi-component," which means different groups of people lived there at different times. We've found evidence of three main periods:
- The Middle Woodland time, from about 100 BC to 500 AD.
- The Upper Mississippian time, from about 1000 AD to 1500 AD.
- The Early Historic time, from about 1500 AD to 1700 AD, when Europeans first arrived.
The Summer Island Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, recognizing its importance.
Contents
What Does the Summer Island Site Look Like?
The Summer Island Site is located in a sandy field. It sits about 20 feet above Summer Harbor. It's also about 125 feet away from the best place to land a canoe in the bay. When archaeologists first started digging here, they could already see old items on the ground!
Who Explored the Summer Island Site?
People have known about this site for a long time. As early as 1851, it was noted as an old Native American village. People might have lived there until about 1770.
Early Discoveries
In 1931, Wilbert B. Hinsdale included the site in his book, Archaeological atlas of Michigan. This showed it was an important place.
First Digs
The first real excavation (digging to find artifacts) was done by George I. Quimby in 1959. He found pieces of pottery and animal bones just by looking at the surface and digging small test holes.
Major Excavations
Later, in 1967 and 1968, David S. Brose led much larger excavations. His team dug up many more clues about the people who lived there.
Who Lived at the Summer Island Site?
Many different groups of people likely used the Summer Island Site over hundreds of years.
Middle Woodland People
The earliest people to live here were probably from the Middle Woodland period. We can tell this from the unique pottery they left behind. It seems these people might have had "patrilocal residences." This means that when a couple got married, they would live near the husband's family.
Later Occupants
Later, the site was used by people from the Upper Mississippian culture and Late Woodland period. They left behind cooking areas (hearths), storage pits for food, and waste pits. These groups likely lived at the site in the late summer. They ate many different animals, including moose, beaver, fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Early Historic Visitors
The last group to use the site probably came around 1620. They left behind early French trade goods. This tells us they were there after Europeans arrived in North America. They used the site as a hunting camp in the late summer.
European Settlers
Much later, in the 1800s, a small fishing village was built just north of the ancient site. European settlers, possibly from St. Martin Island, lived there. Fishermen used the village until the late 1800s. Then, loggers from Fayette used it in the early 1900s.
What Was Found During the Digs?
The excavations in 1967-68 uncovered many interesting things. These included structures, tools, animal bones, and plant remains.
Structures and Pits
Archaeologists found many "post molds" from the Middle Woodland time. These are marks left in the ground where wooden posts once stood. They showed where 4 house structures used to be! They also found:
- 3 storage pits
- 9 refuse pits (for trash)
- 6 hearths (fireplaces)
- 1 internal platform
- 4 drying racks
Other features were found in the Upper Mississippian and Early Historic layers too. These included more hearths, refuse pits, and storage pits.
Tools and Other Items
Many different types of items were found, giving us clues about daily life:
- Pottery (pieces of pots and bowls)
- Stone tools (like arrowheads and knives)
- Bone tools (made from animal bones)
- Copper tools and other copper items
- Trade beads (small beads used for trading)
- Iron trade artifacts (metal items from Europeans)
Pottery and Time Periods
The pottery found at the site helps archaeologists understand when different groups lived there. Each time period has its own unique pottery styles.
Middle Woodland Pottery
A lot of pottery was found from the Middle Woodland period. There were pieces from 112 different pots! By studying these, researchers created a detailed timeline for pottery in the Upper Great Lakes region. This layer was dated to between 70 AD and 250 AD. It was part of a large cultural group called the Northern Tier Middle Woodland tradition. This group lived across a huge area, from Winnipeg in Canada to the St. Lawrence River.
Upper Mississippian Pottery
From the Upper Mississippian period, 16 different pots were identified. This layer was dated to about 1290 AD. Some types found include:
- Carcajou Plain: These pots were smooth, round, and had flared rims. They were made with crushed shell mixed into the clay.
- Koshkonong Bold: These also used shell tempering. They had round shapes and often had vertical finger marks on them.
- Point Detour Trailed: These pots had smooth surfaces and flared rims. They were decorated with narrow lines forming triangles and zigzags.
- Delta Collared: These pots had a rough, cord-marked surface and a thick, slightly flared rim. They were made with grit (small stones) mixed into the clay.
Early Historic Pottery
Sixteen pots were found from the Early Historic period, dated to about 1620 AD. The presence of European trade goods here shows that people were living at the site after Europeans arrived. Some pottery types found include:
- Bay de Non Notched Lip: These pots had a rough, cord-marked surface and rims that were crimped or notched.
- Garden Incised: These had flared rims with special cut or trailed lines on the lip.
- Summer Island Cordmarked: These pots had a very rough, vertical cord-marked surface and thick, almost straight rims.
- Lake Winnebago Trailed: Only one of these was found. It was a round pot with an inward-curving rim and a scalloped edge.
- Ontario Iroquois vessels: Two pots were found that likely came from the Huron or Neutral tribes. These tribes were originally from Ontario, Canada. Similar pottery has been found on Isle Royale in Lake Superior. These pots might have been brought by groups who moved from Ontario during the Beaver Wars.
Why Is the Summer Island Site Important?
The Summer Island Site is very important because it has clear layers from different time periods. The earliest people lived there between 70 and 250 AD. Another group was there around 1290 AD. The last group lived there around 1620 AD, or a few decades later, when Europeans were first exploring the area.
By studying the pottery styles from this site, archaeologists can compare them to other sites. This helps them create a more accurate timeline for when different groups lived in the Michigan, Wisconsin, and surrounding areas. It also gives us clues about how these ancient cultures interacted with each other.
