[cheryl j (OP)]

I live on an island in the Great Lakes (Manitoulin) and am curious about where the shore line was at different times in recent history but also at various points after the last ice age. For example, if you drive in-land from the south shore, you can find large amounts of sand at various points, for several miles. I suppose the old dunes could have been blown there at some point, but it does seem to suggest that the shoreline has been in different places at different times. 

I would think that if you combined a topographical map with data about past water levels, you'd be able to visualize the shoreline for any area you wanted. 

The first evidence of people on the island is from an archeological site at a village called Sheguiandah, where stone tools were found dated at 9,500 years. The site is an outcropping of quartz that was likely a quarry for stone for tools. I'd be interested to know where else people 9,500 years ago would most likely to have been, based on water levels.

In more recent times, the island was inhabited by Woodland Indians, the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi, although it may have been more of a stopping point or seasonal location throughout history.

Anyway, if anyone can steer me in the  right direction, I'd appreciate it.

[dlorde]

Have you tried the geology section of the Great Lakes Information Network?

[cheryl j (OP)]

Thanks, that site has some interesting information. There is a picture that shows the great lakes 14,000, 9,000, 7,000 and 4,000 years ago. At 9,000 it shows the island still covered with glaciers, bear at 7,000, and under water at 4,000. I don't know what that says about the dating of the stone tools at 9,500!
(There has always been controversy associated with that site. When it was first dug up in the 1950s, the archeologist tried to claim they were 50,000 years old because of the level at which they were found.)

Maybe I will look for some more detailed maps.

[dlorde]

... At 9,000 it shows the island still covered with glaciers, bear at 7,000, and under water at 4,000. I don't know what that says about the dating of the stone tools at 9,500!

That is odd. Your best bet might be to find a geologist or archaeologist who knows that area and email them.

[cheryl j (OP)]

Reading about it some more last night, it seems  the Great lakes changed considerably since the last ice age, shrinking and expanding, and changing shape, with bridges or gaps appearing and disappearing. If the entire island was underwater four thousand years ago, I'm surprised they found any paleolithic tools at all, since the water wouldn't have just covered them up, but knocked them around considerably when the water was rising or receding, either burying them, or wearing away any distinctive edges.