Group hunts for, gathers state's past

Most of what's known about Stone Age Michiganders comes from a few large archaeological sites near the Great Lakes, Stafford said. But this site shows the state's interior was more important than some thought, he said.

The dig has unearthed an unusually high number of ancient tools without many flint chips that would indicate that the tools were being produced on the shores of Wabasis Creek. That, he said, indicates that the inhabitants, who lived there only in the spring and summer, were trading widely with other native people from Ohio and beyond.