First published in 1998. Did prehistoric humans walk to North America from Siberia? Who were the inhabitants of the spectacular Anasazi cliff dwellings in the Southwest and why did they disappear? Native Americans used acorns as a major food source, but how did they get rid of the tannic acid which is toxic to humans? How does radiocarbon dating work and how accurate is it? Written for the informed lay person, college-level student, and professional, Archaeology of Prehistoric Native America: An Encyclopedia is an important resource for the study of the earliest North Americans; including facts, theories, descriptions, and speculations on the ancient nomads and hunter-gathers that populated continental North America.

This book represents the archeological evidence for the first 5,500 years of prehistory in British Columbia, from about 10,500 to 5,000 years ago. As this period is poorly known, even to specialists, Early Human Occupation in British Columbia is a vital contribution to current knowledge about an enigmatic time in a critically important area of western North America.

Using artifact data collected and analyzed in 1978 from 4 sites in the Duke Point area and comparable data from other sites in the southern Gulf of Georgia region, it is demonstrated that perceived differences in artifact assemblages, particularly on a presence/absence basis, are not as clear-cut as they were once considered to be. Rather, the significant differences lie in the relative frequencies and percentages of certain artifact types. The utility of the current three-part framework for archaeological analysis, which has encouraged the interpretation of migration, diffusion, and independent invention to explain the origins and temporal variation of culture in the southern Gulf of Georgia region, is critically examined.

Early hunter/gatherer societies have traditionally been considered basically egalitarian in nature. This assumption, however, has been challenged by contemporary archaeological and anthropological research, which has demonstrated that many of these societies had complex social, economic, and political structures. This volume considers two British Columbia Native communities -- the Lillooet and Shuswap communities of Fountain and Pavilion - and traces their development into complex societies. The authors explore the relation between resource characteristics and hunter/gatherer adaptations and examine the use of fish, animal, and plant species, documenting their availability and the techniques used in their gathering, processing, and storing. The book also shows how cultural practices, such as raiding, potlatching, and stewardship of resources, can be explained from a cultural ecological point of view. An important contribution to the study of hunting and gathering cultures in the Northwest, this book is the most detailed examination of the subsistence base of a particular hunting and gathering group to date. Its exploration of the reasons why complex hunting and gathering societies emerge, as well as the ecological relationships between cultures and resources, will make an important contribution to the study of cultural ecology and contemporary archaeology.

A Culture-Historical Sequence for the South Thompson River- Western Shuswap Lakes Region of British Columbia: The Last 4000 Years - Mike K. Rousseau and Thomas Richards Paleo-Indians in Western Oregon: A Description of Two Fluted Projectile Points - Rick Minor Abstracts of Papers Presented at the 38th Annual Northwest Anthropological Conference, 18-20 April 1985, Ellensburg, Washington Shellfish Utilization Among the Puget Sound Salish - William R. Belcher A Species Named from Footprints - Grover S. Krantz Culturally Altered Trees: A Data Source - Russell Hicks

This report contains brief summaries of the archaeological salvage projects undertaken by the Salvage Section, Archaeological Survey of Canada, in the summer of 1972.

This report is the first of an anticipated series on the investigations of the Lillooet Archaeological Project which took place from 1969 to 1976 near the village of Lillooet in British Columbia. It consists of four papers, three of which were written by colleagues in disciplines other than archaeology. The papers discuss the present-day ecology, geologic history, and ethnography of the research area and recount the objectives, origin, and history of the project.

An expanded and revised compilation of Canadian archaeological radiocarbon dates including those of the first publication in 1969 to the spring of 1976. Sites are arranged alphabetically by province or territory. An index of Borden Site Designation System numbers is provided.

Volume two examines such developments as the replacement of the earlier spearthrower by the bow and arrow, the introduction of pottery from the south, the importance of communal hunting of bison on the Plains, and the appearance of ranked societies on the West Coast.