The development of maritime adaptations on the southern Northwest Coast ofNorth America

The southern Washington, Oregon, and northern California coasts have long b een peripheral to discussions of the development of Northwest Coast culture s. This marginality is challenged by recent studies that examine the dynami c cultures and environments of this area in relation to important research issues applicable to a wide range of Pacific coast cultures. Here, we addre ss three primary issues in the archaeology of the southern Northwest Coast: (1) the antiquity of maritime adaptations; (2) the economic significance o f sea mammal hunting; and (3) the nature and importance of fishing and weir technologies, We conclude that the antiquity of widespread maritime adapta tions in the area is unknown, that pinniped hunting is best understood as a n integrated part of broader subsistence adaptations, that coastal fishing was more diverse and eclectic than previously believed, and that the socioe conomic complexity of some southern Northwest Coast cultures was greater th an previous models have suggested.