Abstract

Archaeological research in the Maritime Peninsula continues to grapple with the issue of coastal and interior occupations, particularly in terms of how these articulate with each other. This paper discusses the concept of coastal and interior adapted groups during the Ceramic period (ca. 3000 BP to 400 BP) by looking at how it is presented in the oral histories of the Native peoples of the region, 17th century ethnohistoric documents, 19th century nature writing, 20th century ethnographies, and current ecological and archaeological data. The idea of archetypal seascapes or landscapes is explored as a possible key to our understanding of this coast-interior concept and its use in archaeological interpretation.