Abstract
ABSTRACT In this article we examine prehistoric coastal settlement patterns in the San Juan Islands, Washington by integrating dating work with erosion studies, accumulation rate analysis, and paleoenvironmental data. Dating work draws on previously published radiocarbon dates from big sites and new radiocarbon dates from both big and small sites. We find that an increase in abundance of sites at 650–300 cal BP is amplified but not created by site destruction caused by coastal erosion. We hypothesize that prehistoric peoples established more permanent settlements on the San Juan Islands after 650 cal BP during a wetter climate regime. By calculating accumulation rates for shell midden sites and considering climate change and access to freshwater, we test this hypothesis and discuss differences between temporal patterns in the San Juan Islands and southwestern British Columbia.
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