THE DEVELOPMENT OF MARITIME ADAPTATIONS ON THE SOUTHERN NORTHWEST COAST OF NORTH AMERICA

The southern Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts have long been peripheral to discussions of the development of Northwest Coast cultures. This marginality is challenged by recent studies that examine the dynamic cultures and en- vironments of this area in relation to important research issues applicable to a wide range of Pacific coast cultures. Here, we address three primary issues in the archaeol- ogy of the southern Northwest Coast: (1) the antiquity of maritime adaptations; (2) the economic significance of sea mammal hunting; and (3) the nature and importance of fishing and weir technologies. We conclude that the antiquity of widespread maritime adaptations in the area is unknown, that pinniped hunting is best understood as an in- tegrated part of broader subsistence adaptations, that coastal fishing was more diverse and eclectic than previously believed, and that the socioeconomic complexity of some southern Northwest Coast cultures was greater than previous models have suggested.