Abstract

The Northwest Coast of North America saw the development of numerous prehistoric complex hunter gatherer groups. This area is also one of the most geologically active areas on the continent. This paper looks to tie the development of culture history to the complex geological history of periodic large scale earthquakes. As the most studied and best understood region of the Northwest Coast, the Gulf of Georgia will serve as an illustrative example of the role of earthquakes in shaping culture change. Seismic events have been discussed in archaeological contexts (Hayden and Ryder 1991, Hutchinson and McMillan 1998, McMillan and Hutchinson 2002) but have not, as of yet, been tied to archaeological theory to create an explanation of culture change. Using extant theory of complex hunter-gatherers this paper will provide a mechanism to link rapid environmental change to rapid cultural change. The timing and magnitude of earthquakes can have significant short- and long-term effects on the environment and those living in it (see Hutchinson and McMillan 1997, Clark 2000 for a discussion). This paper will examine two such events where the cultural response differed dramatically and the resultant culture change went in entirely opposite directions.