Mackinac Island is blessed with a lovely natural harbor. The beach terrace above it has always been a center of activity. Today this area is the business district and Marquette Park. Hundreds of years ago this area was a bustling village. Scattered evidence of this village has been encountered during a number of construction projects over the years. A larger portion of the village was systematically excavated in 2009 during the conversion of the Indian Dormitory/old Mackinac Island Public School building into The Richard and Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum. The excavation was carried out by Andrews Cultural Resources, under the direction of Wesley Andrews, through a contract with Mackinac State Historic Parks. All photos in this post were taken by Andrews Cultural Resources staff.
The village, which Andrews called Getewaaking, meaning “at the place of the ancient ones,” was inhabited seasonally from c.500 A.D. to 1600 A.D. Analysis of the animal bones excavated at the site showed that the villagers were fishing for whitefish and lake trout in the fall and burbot in the winter. They supplemented their diet with moose, caribou, beaver, white-tailed deer, black bear, and domesticated dog.
A variety of pottery sherds were found, including some with decorations similar to those on sherds found on nearby Bois Blanc Island. An example is on display in the Mackinac Art Museum. [P8310131] Chert projectile points and scrapers were among the stone tools recovered. [P8300101] Copper beads and tools, including a projectile point, a knife and two awls, were also found. [P8300125] [P8300122] [P8300116]
