The Archaeology of North Pacific Fisheries

For thousands of years, fisheries were crucial to the sustenance of the First People of the Pacific Coast. Yet the effects of human settlement have left us with a woefully incomplete understanding of their histories prior to the industrial era. Covering Alaska, British Columbia, and Puget Sound, "The Archaeology of North Pacific Fisheries" illustrates how the archaeological record reveals new information about ancient ways of life and the histories of key species. Individual chapters cover salmon and a number of lesser-known species abundant in archaeological sites, including pacific cod, herring, rockfish, eulachon, and hake. In turn, this ecological history informs suggestions for sustainable fishing in today's rapidly changing environment.