Oregon Archaeology

Chapter 4: Lower Columbia and Oregon Coast

211 Chapter 4 Lower Columbia and Oregon Coast The Oregon Coast in Context The coast of Oregon is part of the Pacific Northwest Coast Culture Area, which stretches from the vicinity of Yakutat Bay, Alaska to about Cape Mendocino in northern California (fig. 4.1). The “culture area” designation implies certain shared traits along this broad coastal zone, many of them due to common environmental features. Human populations on the Pacific Northwest Coast were packed along a thin, ribbon-like zone of enormous biotic richness at the continent’s edge, where the terrestrial resources of the continent, the marine resources of the ocean, and those of the littoral zone (the intertidal shore) were concentrated. The region’s robust biotic productivity has long made it one of relatively high population density and sedentary occupation, factors which have fostered the development of increasingly complex societies. Elements of shared culture along the Northwest Coast can be seen in the technology of fishing and hunting and in the realms of art and religion. But there are many local variations as well—overall, the cultural diversity of this zone is considerable. In terms of language, for example, the Northwest Coast is the single most diverse region in all of North America. This fact suggests that cultural similarities throughout the Northwest Coast are a function of common adaptations to similar environments and to convergences resulting from widespread trade and social interaction, rather than deriving from a common cultural and genetic heritage. The Pacific coast from Alaska to California is backed by rugged mountains that often drop steeply to the ocean, leaving a narrow strip of coastal plain, or none at all. Annual precipitation typically exceeds 100 inches/year, producing lush temperate rainforests and vigorous coastal rivers. Indeed, the Northwest 212 OREGON ARCHAEOLOGY Coast “cultural area” corresponds closely to the distribution of the northern temperate rainforest. This zone produces one of the earth’s highest biomass concentrations, including trees that grow to massive proportions such as Sitka spruce, western hemlock, western red cedar, and coast redwood. Small mountain meadows are intermittently present, and provide a source of berries, nutritious roots, and game. The marine environment provides a great abundance of fish, birds, and sea mammals. The littoral zone is rich in shellfish, including mussels and barnacles along rocky shores and clams on sand beaches and mudflats. The shore zone is also where sea mammals and shore birds concentrate in great numbers for mating and rearing their young. Coastal estuaries, tidally influenced river outlets where freshwater and sea water commingle, are especially productive. Oregon and the Northwest Coast Culture Area The highly concentrated “ribbon of riches” represented by the coastal ecotone (fig. 4.2), combined with the geographic constraints on human settlement imposed by bordering ocean and rugged mountains, resulted in a population density along the North Pacific coast that was among the highest in all of pre-contact North America. And while economies were based on hunting, gathering, and fishing, Northwest Coast societies exhibited features commonly associated with agriculturalists, including permanent towns and villages , ownership of property rights, elaborate and complex material culture, stratified societies, and full-time specialists (see inset box). In spite of recognized commonalities, there are many important differences along the Northwest Coast. To the north, including the Alaska Panhandle and portions of coastal British Columbia, the bordering mountains Fig. 4.2. The coast provides a concentrated “ribbon of riches” from marine, terrestrial, and littoral environments: a, sea lions and cormorants; b, mussel colonies on tidal rocks; c, mussel colony detail. LOWER COLUMBIA AND OREGON COAST 213 are steep and high, with glacier-cut gorges and generally no coastal plain. The coastline is highly convoluted, with many offshore islands; as a result, marine waters are relatively protected and highly accessible to coastal dwellers, and access to terrestrial resources is relatively more limited. By contrast, the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and northern California are straight and unprotected , and pummeled by unimpeded ocean waves on one of the earth’s most high-energy coastlines. Compared with those to the north, the coastal mountains are less imposing, with intermittent strips of narrow coastal plain. In the north, a highly structured society was organized around the control of wealth (including the ownership of critical resources such as the most productive fisheries), coupled with the status and social influence necessary Features common to the diverse cultural groups who lived along the North Pacific Coast • Subsistence derived primarily...