Zooarchaeology of the pre-Contact Northwest coast of North America

• Main Author: Monks, Gregory G.
• Other Authors: Albarella, Umberto, Rizzetto, Mauro, Russ, Hannah, Vickers, Kim, Viner-Daniels, Sarah
• Format: Book
• Language: unknown
• Published: Oxford University Press 2017
• Subjects: Pacific; Yakutat; Alaska
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199686476.013.35

The Northwest Coast of North America (NWC) is a culture area that extends from the Klamath River in northern California to Yakutat Bay in southeastern Alaska. The area’s topography varies from a relatively linear open Pacific shoreline in Oregon and Washington to a highly irregular shoreline of islands, archipelagos, and fjords with mountains often descending precipitously into the sea. Archaeology on the Northwest Coast of North America has a relatively short history, and zooarchaeology has an even shorter one. This paper presents a summary of that history for the pre-contact period, traces the research that has been done to date and suggests some directions for future studies.