From Pleistocene Mariners to Complex Hunter-Gatherers: The Archaeology of the California Channel Islands

Authors: Rick, Torben; Erlandson, Jon; Vellanoweth, René; Braje, Todd

Source: Journal of World Prehistory, Volume 19, Number 3, September 2005 , pp. 169-228(60)

Publisher: Springer

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Abstract:

California's Channel Islands were home to some of the most distinctive Native American peoples along the Pacific Coast. Never connected to the mainland during the Quaternary, the Channel Islands have an impoverished terrestrial flora and fauna, but some of the richest and most productive marine environments in the Americas, including diverse kelp forest, intertidal, and offshore marine habitats. Native Americans occupied the Channel Islands for roughly 13,000 calendar years until the early nineteenth century, providing one of the longest and best preserved records of maritime hunter-gatherers in the Americas. We provide an overview and analysis of Channel Islands archaeology, from the relatively mobile peoples who colonized the islands during the Late Pleistocene to the complex hunter-gatherers documented by early Spanish explorers. Our analysis demonstrates the importance of Channel Islands archaeology for enhancing knowledge on a number of broad anthropological issues, including coastal and aquatic adaptations, seafaring, cultural complexity, trade and exchange, and ancient human impacts on the environment.

Keywords: Channel Islands; California; Pacific Coast; Cultural complexity; Coastal adaptations; Shell middens; Seafaring

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10963-006-9004-x

Affiliations: 1: Email: trick@mail.smu.edu

Publication date: 2005-09-01