Tundra, Ice and a Pleistocene Cape on the Gulf of Maine: A Case of Paleo Indian Transhumance

The prominence of Munsungun Chert at the Bull Brook Paleoindian site provides a case study for long-distance lithic transport between northern Maine and northeastern Massachusetts, a distance of over 400 kilometers. Paleoenvironmental factors suggest seasonal concentrations of caribou may have occurred at different times of the year, providing the incentive for long-distance seasonal transhumance. Specifically, we look at complementary attractions of an ice-edge environment in proximity to the northern chert quarries, and what may have been a grassy cape directly east of the Bull Brook site.