@Conference Paper {10765,
	title = {A comparison of sea-levels and prehistoric cultural development on the west and east coasts},
	year = {1981},
	address = {Edmonton},
	abstract = {In an earlier work I proposed that the prehistory of the north-west coast could be broadly divided into 2 basic sequential culture stages: (1) an early lithic Horizon which seemed to represent a relatively simple and generalized adaptation; and (2) a later shell-midden horizon which approximates the relatively complex and specialized culture pattern of the ethnographic Pacific coast. I attempted to explain the relatively radical and synchronous shift between these {\textquoteright}horizons{\textquoteright} all along the northwest coast, about 5000-4000 B.P., as an indirect result of the quasi-stabilization of regional relative sea-levels. The fundamental theoretical assumptions were: a. attainment of a specialized {\textquoteright}climax{\textquoteright} cultural adaptation is not possible until the natural ecosystem reaches and maintains an optimum steady state; b. equilibrium of coastal ecosystems is most directly governed by the lateral location of the shoreline, and its rate of movement, which in turn is a product of various factors affecting regional sea-level, and bottom topography. Although specifically intended as a model attempting to explain northwest coast culture change, the basic concept should be applicable to any maritime region. In this paper I will apply this model to the prehistory of the Atlantic region of Canada and adjacent northern New England. Local sea-level curves and prehistoric sequences will be compared and con- trasted to those of the northwest coast. It will be argued that northeastern Atlantic sea-levels have been significantly less stable than those of the northwest coast, particularly over the last 3-5000 years. This may be a fundamental indirect cause preventing the development of complex maritime oriented cultures in late coastal Algonquian prehistory.},
	author = {K. Fladmark}
}
