Question: What evidence indicates the earliest activity from humans in the 18000 BCE Americas in the history of the Indiana Dunes ?

text: History of the Indiana Dunes
Pre-Columbian
Early man entered the area south of Lake Michigan after the glaciers retreated around 15,000 years ago . As the glaciers receded , people began to move into the area . The earliest people recorded in Indiana are the Early Paleoindians . No sites have been found in the dunes . During the period of this cultural group , the dunes area had just emerged from beneath the continental glaciers . The landscape was not conducive to the existence of the animals upon which the Early Paleoindian culture depended . [ 5 ] A few scattered Late Paleoindian artifacts have been found on the higher and older ridges in the dunes . [ 5 ] projectile points from INDU ( see also Lynott et al . 1998 ) [ 5 ] Multiple locations within the dunes have yielded artifacts from the archaic traditions . Included are Early Archaic Lecroy or Kanawha bifurcate-stemmed point ( 7800 and 5800 BC ) , Greenville Creek side notched . Also documented are four sites with projectile points that are the Middle to Late Archaic points found in the Great Lakes area . [ 5 ] The dunes developed from the 'glacial lakes ' that formed between the Valparaiso Moraine and the receding glacier . As such , there are no glacial kames in the dunes area . With the lack of glacial kames to locate burials , it is only the projectile points that are usable for rough dating . Simultaneous with the Glacial Kame people , the Red Ocher people and the Old Copper Culture . Like the Glacial Kame culture , these other groups are identified by their burial goods . The centers of the Red Ocher and Old Copper Culture are further from the Indiana Dunes and no artifacts have been identified as being from any of these three cultural groups . [ 5 ] The earliest signs of long-term or permanent habitation are the mounds that exist across northwest Indiana . While undated , many are placed in the cultural group that has become known as the Goodall Focus [ 6 ] The Goodall Focus is a cultural grouping of the Hopewell Culture . The dunes are the far western and most southern expression of Goodall sites . The group is centered in western Michigan along the Grand , Kalamazoo and Galien Rivers . [ 7 ] The mounds located in the dunes are represented by six sites . Type Findings Status Burial [ 4 ] Two burial sites have been examined . The graveyard blow-out in the Indiana Dunes State Park revealed a skull and a vertebra with an arrow lodge in it . The second site included seven complete skeletons . Located near the Petit fort the first site has eroded away . The second burial site was discovered as Wagner Road was extended northward and has been fully excavated . Camp Site [ 4 ] The first campsite located was near Tremont , just north of Highway 12 . Many flint chips and fire-cracked stones were found . The second campsite was reported on a high elevation on both sides of the Calumet River , north of Porter . High points were dry areas for overnight use . No relics were found at either site during the 1931 field examinations . The second site showed no signs of human habitation . `` Indian '' Well [ 4 ] Located north of Chesterton was a spring . It was said to be the site for large gatherings . By 1931 , it had been filled in . Mound Valley [ 4 ] In 1923 , there were nearly 100 mounds . [ 8 ] There were round mounds of 20 feet ( 6.1 m ) to 50 feet ( 15 m ) across and 6 feet ( 1.8 m ) to 10 feet ( 3.0 m ) tall . Other elliptical mounds were 10 feet ( 3.0 m ) to 40 feet ( 12 m ) long . Excavations found stone knives , hammers , and projectile points . Steel blades with bone handles were also discovered , but could not be saved . By 1931 , no evidence remained of any of these mounds . By the 15th century CE , the communities of Native American surrounding the southern shores of Lake Michigan were of the Huber-Berrien group . These were a mound builder associated people , contemporary to the Fort Ancient communities of the Ohio River valley [ 9 ]
The Indiana Dunes are natural sand dunes occurring at the southern end of Lake Michigan in the American State of Indiana. They are known for their ecological significance. Many conservationists have played a role in preserving parts of the Indiana Dunes. The Hour Glass, a museum in Ogden Dunes, showcases some of the ecological import of the Dunes. Human presences in the Indiana Dunes have existed since the retreat of the glaciers some 14,000 years ago. The southern lakes area was a rich hunting ground and there is little evidence of permanent communities forming during the earlier years. Archeological evidence is consistent with seasonal hunting camps. The earliest evidence for permanent camps is consistent with the Hopewellian occupation of the Ohio valley. Five groups of mounds have been documented in the dunes area. These mounds would be consistent with the period of 200 BCE (Goodall Focus) to 800 CE (early Mississippian). The advent of European exploration and trade introduced more changes to the human environment. Tribal animosities and traditional European competition affected tribal relations.
Major classification Cultural group Related major cultural group Time period
Clovis culture  Paleo-Indians 18000 BCE - 8000 BCE
Early Archaic Glacial Kame Culture - ( 8000 BCE to 1000 BCE ) Red Ocher people 8000 BCE - 6000 BCE
Middle Archaic Glacial Kame Culture - ( 8000 BCE to 1000 BCE ) Red Ocher people 6000 BCE - 3000 BCE
Old Copper Complex aka Late Archaic Glacial Kame Culture - ( 8000 BCE to 1000 BCE ) Red Ocher people 4000 BCE to 1000 BCE
Early Woodland period  Adena culture 1000 BCE to 200 CE
Middle Woodland period Goodall Focus Hopewell tradition 200 BCE to 500 CE
Late Woodland period or Fort Ancient Oneota Mississippian culture 800 CE to 1500 CE
Historic Miami Woodland c 1673 along the St. Joseph River of Lake Michigan
Historic Potawatomi Woodland c 1780s to 1838