Abstract

Biface industries are present on the coast of British Columbia by 10,500 years ago. Fluted points from undated contexts on the coast are known south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, but none have been found to the north on the coast of British Columbia where non-fluted, foliate (leaf-shaped) bifaces of several types are the earliest types found during the first 5,000 years of prehistory. In the Gulf Islands there is little evidence for human habitation predating 5000 BP. The biface types present at that time consist of both foliate and contracting stemmed forms similar to those found in the Fraser Canyon sequence. These types persist until about 2000 BP when triangular points with or without barbs become the most common types. After 1500 BP chipped stone points become rare, and those that are found are usually small side-notched or corner notched arrow points. On the central coast the earliest points are foliate bifaces without stems or barbs of which some resemble the Chindadn "heart-shaped" bifaces of the Nenana Complex of central Alaska that are also found in Haida Gwaii. By 6000 BP some of the foliate bifaces have incipient stems. Bifaces with definite contracting stems appear by 3500 BP, and both fishtail bifaces and side-notched bifaces appear on the central coast between 2000 and 1500 BP. Small side-notched arrow points are found after 1500 BP, but none of these types are common .