For thousands of years, fisheries were crucial to the sustenance of the First Peoples of the Pacific Coast. Yet human impact has 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, as well as 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.

From the SAA Press Current Perspectives Series, this concise overview of the archeology of the Northwest Coast of North America challenges stereotypes about complex hunter-gatherers. Madonna Moss argues that these ancient societies were first and foremost fishers and food producers and merit study outside socio-evolutionary frameworks. Moss approaches the archaeological record on its own terms, recognizing that changes through time often reflect sampling and visibility of the record itself. The book synthesizes current research and is accessible to students and professionals alike.