6 The Saginaw Valley Collection 



Zizania aquatica Linn, a staple produced by nature in such abun- 

 dance that it was of great importance to the primitive people of 

 the region. The streams which were of the most importance to 

 the prehistoric inhabitants of the valley were the Saginaw river and 

 its main tributaries, including the Shiawassee, Flint, Bad, Cass, 

 Tittabawassee and their branches, while the Pigeon, Sebewaing, 

 Kawkawlin and Rifle were not unimportant. Bordering the lower 



W. Orchard, Photo. 

 CHERT NODULE IN LIMESTONE. 



From Bay Port Quarries. 



courses of the rivers there are numerous bayous with low sand 

 ridges scattered over the land between them. At the head waters 

 the streams flow more swiftly and undercut their banks, and large 

 bayous and swamps are less frequent. 



Chert or impure flint was extensively quarried and chipped 

 into implements by the prehistoric inhabitants of the valley, and 

 in the chipped implements found on the village sites and hunting- 

 grounds this material largely predominates. A specimen of 

 limestone of Subcarboniferous age bearing a nodule of chert, ob- 

 tained at the modern quarries at Bay Port, Michigan, is illus- 



