Abstract

The Pacific Northwest Coast is an example of dominant evolutionary themes structuring the analysis of archaeological data sets that can almost exclusively be considered interrupted. This follows from the difficulty accumulating archaeological knowledge in a sparsely populated and environmentally diverse region of the world. The information that has been gathered from archaeological sites over this mountainous, rugged coastline is constricted both temporally and spatially. The nature of archaeological data on the Northwest Coast thus lends itself well to evolutionary debates while at the same time leaving historical narratives little in the way of a grounding. This situation is beginning to change, however, in several regions of the Northwest Coast. In the Gulf of Georgia a foundation of archaeological research results now exists that is detailed enough to begin to build an historical interpretation of social life. Employing existing archaeological data a detailed example explores the meanings of a new framework for interpretation.