EARLY STORAGE AND SEDENTISM ON THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
COAST: ANCIENT DNA ANALYSIS OF SALMON REMAINS FROM
NAMU, BRITISH COLUMBIA
Aubrey Cannonand Dongya Y. Yang
Ancient DNA identificationof salmon remainsfrom the site ofNamu on the central coast of British Columbiashows use of
a variety of species and an emphasis on pink salmon over the course of the past 7,000 years. These results support arguments that Namu was a permanent village settlement dependent on a salmon storage economy throughoutthis time. This
pattern of subsistence and settlementpredates by several millennia thefirst substantial evidencefor population expansion
or social differentiationin the region. Periodic salmon shortages in the period after 2000 cal B.C., which are associated
with local and regional disruptionsin settlementand increased reliance on moremarginal resources,appear to be the result
of failures in the pink salmonfishery.
La identificaciondel ADN antiguo en remanentesde salmon obtenidos en el sitio Namu en la costa central de la Columbia
Britdnica,constituyeevidencia de la utilizacionde una variedadde especies, con preferenciapor el salmon rosado, a traves
de los ultimos7000 anos. Dichos resultadosvendriana apoyar la hipotesis de que Namu seria un asentamientopermanente,
que dependeriaeconomicamentedel almacenamientode salmon.Este patron de subsistenciay de asentamientovendriaa ser
mas temprano,por varios milenios,que la importanteprimeraevidenciade una expansionpoblacional o de una diferenciacion
social en esta region.La escasez periodica del salmon en el periodo posterior al 2000 cal B.C., asociada con trastornosen
los asentamientoslocales y regionalesy con un incrementode la dependenciasobre recursosmas marginales,vendriana ser
productodelfracaso en la pesca del salmon rosado.
debatewhen sedentarysettlement and a fully developed salmonArchaeologists
storageeconomyfirstappearon thePacific
NorthwestCoast(Ames2003:24).Theyalsodebate
their relative importance in long-term cultural
developmentsin the region (Matson 1992:422;
Moss andErlandson1995:34).Resolutionof these
debatesmayeventuallycome frommoreextensive
site survey and excavation,but progress toward
theirresolutioncan also come fromnew evidence
derivedfrom existing site collections.We present
a newlineof evidencebasedon ancientDNA analysis of salmon remains from the site of Namu,
locatedin the traditionalterritoryof the Heiltsuk
Nation on the centralcoast of British Columbia
(Figure1). Theresultsgive newinsightintotheprecise species compositionof the fishery and lend
weightto argumentsthatNamuwas fromas early
as 5000 cal B.C.a permanentvillagesettlementsustainedby a salmon-storageeconomy.
Althoughstorageand sedentismare no longer
thoughtto be eithersufficientor strictlynecessary
for the emergenceof "complex"hunter-gatherers
(Moss and Erlandson1995:34),they are amonga
constellationof conditionswidely linkedto population growth,surplusproduction,and the development of social inequality (Arnold 1996;
Rowley-Conwy2001:44).PacificNorthwestCoast
archaeologistsgenerallyrecognize the mass harvest andstorageof seasonallyavailableresources,
particularlysalmon, as an essential basis for the
ethnographicpatternof denseregionalpopulation,
largepermanentsettlements,rich ceremonialtraditions,highly developedmaterialarts,and com-
Aubrey Cannon Departmentof Anthropology,McMasterUniversity, 1280 Main StreetWest, Hamilton,Ontario,
Canada,L8S 4L9 (cannona@mcmaster.ca)
Dongya Y. Yang Departmentof Archaeology,Simon FraserUniversity,Burnaby,B.C., Canada,V5A 1S6
(donyang@sfu.ca)
AmericanAntiquity,71(1), 2006, pp. 123-140
Copyright©2006 by the Society for AmericanArchaeology
123
1 24
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
Figure 1. Location of Namu on the central coast of British Columbia.
plex social ranking(Matson 1992). Since sedentary settlementand the productionand controlof
subsistencesurplusare widely viewed as having
enabledordirectlycausedtheemergenceof greater
social and cultural complexity (Ames 1994;
MaschnerandPatton1996:101;Matson1992:422),
material evidence of these developments has
assumed a prominent place in archaeological
researchanddebate.
Very early evidence of storageand sedentism
couldunderminepositedrelationshipswithincreasing populationdensityand greatersocial inequality, but indirectarchaeologicalindicatorsalways
retain enough ambiguity to sustain established
views in theface of potentiallycontradictory
observations.Storage,for example,is acknowledgedas
havingbeenbasedon relativelysimpletechnology
and thereforelikely to have been presentin some
form from the earliest occupationof the region
(Ames 1994:217;Ames andMaschner1999:127).
The massharvestandstorageof salmonis considered a muchlaterdevelopmentinvolvingchanges
in the organizationof productionandmoresedentarysettlement.Itis thoughtto be thebasisforpopulationincreaseand the emergenceof increasing
social differentiation(Croes and Hackenberger
1988),thoughpopulationgrowthis alsoconsidered
a likely reasonfor the developmentof a storagebased economy (Ames and Maschner1999:252253). The generallyweak andequivocalevidence
used to supportargumentsfor and againststorage
is the majorbasis for contention.Largequantities
REPORTS
of salmonremains,the relativerepresentationof
cranialelements versus vertebrae,mass capture
technology,and storage structureshave all been
cited and debated as evidence for large-scale
salmonstorage.
Onerelativelysimpleindicatorof storageis the
presenceof the remainsof one particularresource
in such abundancethattheir accumulationas the
resultof freshconsumptionwould seem unlikely.
An abundanceof salmonrelativeto otherresources
might suggest their consumptionas dried stores
since salmonareavailablefor a limitedperiodconsistingof only weeks or months.Ames (1998:82)
has suggestedthat such abundancecould also be
explainedas the result of large-scalepopulation
aggregationscoming togetherfor shortperiodsof
timeto consumefishfreshratherthanas processed
stores.
Salmonremainsresultingfromprocessingand
storagehave been differentiatedfrom those consumedfreshon thebasisof therelativeproportions
of cranialelements and vertebrae(Calvert1970;
Coupland 1998:43; Matson 1992). Controlled
observationsof processingandstoragepracticesin
morerecenthistoriccontextssupportthe proposition thatvillage sites subsistingon storesof dried
salmoncan exhibit a preponderanceof vertebrae
while campsusedforprocessingorwherethe consumptionof freshfishtookplaceyieldgreaternumbers of cranialelements(Hoffmanet al. 2000). A
wide range of other taphonomicand processing
variablescould also potentiallyproduce assemof crablagesvaryingin therelativerepresentation
nial elements (Ames 1994:217; Cannon 2001;
Coupland1998:51-52). Therearealsotoo few sites
fromcontrolledtemporalcontextsthatexhibitclear
forthisto be the
patternsof elementrepresentation
of largefor
the
criterion
development
deciding
scale storageon the NorthwestCoast. Although
widely cited, this variable alone is at best an
ambiguousindicatorof storage.
Additionalsupportfor intensivesalmonfishing
and storagecomes from studiesof weirs and fish
trapsbuiltto facilitatemassharvest.Again,thereasoning is that such facilities would yield harvests
in excess of whatcouldbe consumedas freshfish,
thereforeimplyingtheirpurposewas to enablethe
harvestof sufficientfishforwinterstorage.Therelativelyrecentdate of most fish weirs (Moss et al.
1990;Moss and Erlandson1998) has led some to
125
infer that intensivefishing for storagewas also a
relatively recent development(Ames 1994:217;
Matson1992:386,2003:7).Earlyexamplesoffish
weirs also indicatelong-termuse of this technology (EldridgeandAcheson 1992), but early populationsprobablymadeuse of a varietyof harvest
techniques. Although common construction of
weirs and fish trapsmay be a later development
indicatingintensificationof fishing on local and
regional scales, these constructions were not
requiredfor local populationsto base theirwinter
subsistenceon storedsalmon.
The absenceof storagefeaturesin earlyarchaeological contextshas also been cited as evidence
against an early dependence on salmon storage
(AmesandMaschner1999:138).Theethnographic
culturesof theNorthwestCoastdependedon boxes,
baskets,andthecornersandraftersof plankhouses
as storagefacilities(Suttles 1968:63-64). Baskets
andboxesareunlikelyto be preservedin mostearly
contexts,andthey leave little otherarchaeological
trace.The NorthwestCoastcedarplankhouse has
been describedas a large storagefacility (Ames
1996).Theidentificationof large-scalestoragehas
thereforefocused on evidence for the advent of
permanent residential structures (Ames 1994:
217-219). Unfortunately,
earlyevidenceforhouses
is very difficult to discern in the limited area
expanse of most excavationsinto deep and complexly stratifiedshell middendeposits.Evenwhen
positedon the basis of floor and supportpost featuresuncoveredthroughexcavationsof greaterarea
extent(e.g.,Hamet al. 1986), earlyevidenceof permanenthousing has been consideredunconvincing (Ames and Maschner 1999:262; Matson
1992:382). The more unequivocalevidence for
large,rectangularresidentialhousing,of the form
thatwould allow for large-scalestorage,generally
comes in the formof surfacefeaturesconsistingof
structuraloutlines.The focus on surfacefeatures
tendsto supporta laterdateforthe developmentof
permanenthousing.
Argumentsagainstan earlystorage-basedsubsistence economy presuppose an earlier, more
mobilepatternof shiftingresidenceto takeadvantage of seasonally availableresources.The difficultyin applyingthismodelto theNorthwestCoast
is thatrelativelyfew substantialresourcesareavailable in the wintermonthsin this temperateregion.
It is possible to fish for some minorspecies, such
1 26
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
as rockfish,year round. Shellfish are also available, thoughthereis no early evidence to suggest
they were sufficientbasis for winter subsistence.
Some game,suchas deerandsea mammals,is also
available,but a subsistence economy reliant on
thesetypes of typicallysingularandintermittently
availableresourceswouldlikelybe precarious.The
absenceof large-scale,easily harvested,and reliablefood resourcesthroughoutthe wintercouldin
itself arguefor an emphasison the mass harvest
and storage of salmon, but the absence of early
positiveevidencefor whatis presumedto be such
a pivotaldevelopmenthas been enoughto undermine any argument based solely on seasonal
resourceavailability.
The lack of substantialevidence from early
archaeologicalcontexts and the equivocalnature
of all materialindicatorsof storagefromwhatever
contexthave left the timingof large-scalesalmon
storageopen to questionand debate.The consensushasbeenthatintensivefishingandstoragewere
relativelylatedevelopments.Oneresearcher(Matson 1992:423)has gone so faras to say "weappear
to be on the verge of being able to say with certainty that the Northwest Coast salmon-storage
economy came into being duringthe 3500-3000
B.P.period."
Theissueof whenpermanentsedentaryorsemisedentarywintervillage settlementemergedon the
coast has been even moredifficultto resolve.Part
of the problemis a matterof definition,buteven if
permanentwinter village settlementof the type
describedethnographically,which also incorporatesa substantialdegreeof seasonalmobilityon
the partof individualsand groups,is takenas the
standard,unequivocalarchaeologicalevidencefor
its developmentcanbe difficultto discern.Demonstrationof permanentmultiseasonalor wintervillage settlement has typically depended on the
evidenceof substantialresidentialstructuresorseasonallyspecificfaunalindicators.Theproblemwith
discerningearlyevidenceof substantialstructures
has alreadybeen described.The sameissues noted
for storagealso applyto thequestionof village settlement.Givenrelianceon surfacefeaturesto define
substantialstructures,the adventof village settlementon the coasttendsto be placedrelativelylate
(Ames 1994:218-219; Matson and Coupland
1995:187).
The problemswith making seasonal determi-
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
nationson the basis of faunalindicatorshavebeen
widelydiscussed(Monks1981:180-185). Theseasonalavailabilityof mostfaunalspeciescoversuch
wide and often overlappingrangesthatthey provide littlepreciseindicationof whenpeopleinhabitedanygivensite.Seasonallyavailablefaunashow
minimallywhenpeoplewerepresent,buttheycannotdemonstratecontinuouspresenceoveranyspecific lengthof time. Growthincrementanalysisof
shell has also provedunreliable(Maxwell 2003).
Theadventof permanentvillagesettlementis therefore tied to the unequivocalevidenceof largesubwhichareonlyclearly
stantialresidentialstructures,
evidentin theterminaloccupationsof village sites.
These aregenerallyrecentat most locations.
Cannon( 199 1, 1998)haslongarguedonthebasis
of faunalremainsthat Namu was occupied year
roundby someportionof itsresidentpopulationand
wasdependenton a storage-based
economyfocused
on the massharvestof salmon.He has also argued
thatthatpatternremainedfundamentally
unchanged
fromthedateof theearliestpreservedfaunalremains
ca. 5000 cal B.C. The argumentis basedforemost
on the large quantitiesof salmon among the fish
remainsotherthanherring.Salmonmakeup89 percent of all identifiedfish otherthanherringin the
earliestperiodfor which faunalremainsare available (Cannon1991:18).Based on the analysisof
augersamples,herringwas even moreabundantin
this and all subsequentperiods (Cannon2000a).
Althougha varietyof fish, shellfish,mammal,and
birdspecies were harvested,it is clearthatsalmon
and herringwere the main foci of the subsistence
economy throughoutthe last 7,000 years. Some
archaeologistsaccept that the large quantityof
salmonat the site is evidenceof storage(Coupland
1998:44).Others,while not dismissingthe possibility,havesuggestedalternative
explanations,such
as large seasonal fishing aggregations (Ames
1998:88).Thesomewhatweakerargumentbasedon
cranialelementversusvertebrarepresentation
has
notbeenaddressedexplicitly,buttheNamusalmon
consistoverwhelminglyof vertebraein all periods
(Cannon1991:18).
The argumentfor a permanentmultiseasonal
occupationof the Namu site is based on the consistent presence of seasonally specific resources,
includingneonatalharborseal remains,indicative
of presenceataroundthemid-Junepeakin thepupping season;salmon,which are availablein sum-
REPORTS
mer/earlyautumn;andherring,whichareavailable
in late winter/earlyspringwhen they come near
shoreto spawn.Similarfaunalevidenceis citedby
Ames and Maschner(1999:139) as indicativeof
year-roundoccupationof the Boardwalksite in
PrinceRupertharborby 2100 B.C., but they note
on the samepage:"Thereis also no directevidence
of storageat Namu, except for the large numbers
of salmon.It seems perfectlyfeasible thatmobile
huntersandgathererswould gatherat Namufor a
fall fish run,perhapseven erectingstructures,dispersingto otheravailablefood sources,andreturning in the spring."
Multiseasonalfauna, specifically salmon and
herring,have been cited at otherlocationson the
coast as indicativeof seasonalmobilitytypicalof
Binford'sforagermode (Coupland1998:41),but
thereare no obvious resourcesavailablebetween
the times of the salmonand herringfisheriesthat
would warrantmovement away from the Namu
site.Thethreeclearseasonalindicatorsimplysome
residenceat the site throughoutmuch of the year.
If wintersubsistencewasalso supportedby reliance
on storesof driedor smokedsalmon,then clearly
Namuwas a majorwintervillage, typicalof those
fromthedateof theeardescribedethnographically,
liest faunalremainsca. 5000 cal B.C.
It is nonethelesspossible to arguereasonably,
as Ames has done, that the early abundanceof
salmon could be the productof limited seasonal
aggregationfor a particularfishery.The site might
then be abandoneduntil reoccupiedby a similar
aggregationfor the herringfishery.A large numberof peoplefroma wide areacongregatingat one
locationfor a limitedtime certainlycouldproduce
andimmediatelyconsumea largenumberof fish.
Althoughit is not clear why Namu would be the
focus for sucha congregation,thereasonscouldbe
the same as those thatmightbe offeredto explain
use of the site as a village location.
Based on the presenceand abundanceof morphologically identifiedfauna, there is not much
likelihoodof resolvingthe debate,especially not
in the face of persistentviews thatsedentism,storage,populationgrowth,andculturalcomplexityare
mutuallylinkedand relativelylate developments.
In the absenceof unambiguousevidenceof structuralremains,it is unlikelythatanyamountof excavation would resolve this issue. Fortunatelythe
developmentandrefinementof new ancientDNA
127
(aDNA) analyticaltechniqueshas provedcapable
of providinga new level of precisionin the faunal
datathatgoes somewaytowardbolsteringtheargumentforearlysedentismandstorage.Italsorefines
ourknowledgeand understandingof laterdisruptionin the fishery,aneventthatCannon(2002) has
cited as a potentiallycriticaljuncturein the settlementhistoryof the site andthe surrounding
region.
Ancient DNA Analysis of the Namu Salmon
The resultsof extensiveaDNA analysisof salmon
remainsshow a clear patternand long-termconsistency in the natureof the fishery.The identification of species from individual vertebrae
followedtechniquesdevelopedandrefinedbyYang
et al. (2004). The analysisbeganat the McMaster
UniversityPalaeogeneticsInstitutewith the initial
experimentaldevelopmentof theprotocolsforconsistentaDNAextractionandspeciesidentification,
butwas carriedoutlargelyattheSimonFraserUniversity Ancient DNA Laboratory.The project
developed over several years between 2000 and
2004. Samplingproceededin stages, initially to
select a few vertebraefor testing, followed by
expansionof the sampleto encompassa rangeof
time periods and vertebrasizes, and then more
extensive sampling to produce comparable-size
samples from the major time periods identified
withinthe last 7,000 yearsof the site's occupation.
Sampling,whichis discussedin moredetailbelow,
involveda combinationof randomandsize dependentselectionfromcontextschosento coverevenly
the broadestavailabletemporalspan.The results
presentedhere are based on successfulextraction
andspeciesidentificationof aDNAsequencesfrom
116 individualvertebraeselectedby Cannonfrom
28 excavationcontexts across seven horizontally
definedexcavationunits and two augersampling
locations.
Results
The resultspresentedin Table 1 are summarized
by majortimeperiodsdefinedon thebasisof stratigraphicdivisions, artifactcontent, and extensive
radiocarbondating(Carlson1991, 1996). Overall,
thereis a clearemphasison pinksalmon,followed
by sockeyeandchum.Cohois alsoconsistentlypresentin smallernumbers,andone vertebradeliberately selectedfor analysisbecauseof its unusually
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
1 28
Table 1. Numberand Percentageof aDNA IdentifiedSalmon Species by Time Period.
Pink
Period
P6 (AD 1 - Contact)
P5 (2000 BC- ADI)
P4 (3000 - 2000 BC)
P3 (4000 - 3000 BC)
P2 (5000 - 4000 BC)
Site Total
n
11
5
9
13
11
49
%
42.3
16.1
45.0
76.5
50.0
42.2
Chum
ri
%
5
11
6
2
5
29
19.2
35.5
30.0
11.8
22.7
25.0
Sockeye
n
%
7
15
4
2
4
32
largesize was identifiedas chinook.Therefore,all
five majoranadromousspecies of Pacific salmon
arepresentatthesite,thoughtheemphasisis clearly
on pink, which makeup 42.2 percentof the identified salmon.
The morphologyof salmonvertebraedoes not
allow their identification to species. An earlier
attemptto inferthelikelycompositionof theNamu
salmonfisherybased on radiographicanalysisof
incrementalgrowth lines in vertebrae(Cannon
1988, 1998) had suggestedan emphasison chum,
but had erroneouslyexcluded sockeye from considerationbasedon the publishedobservationthat
majorrunsof sockeye are restrictedto largeriver
systemssuchas the FraserandSkeena.In fact,the
NamuRiverhas alwayssupportedrunsof sockeye
salmon,as do manyof the othersmallriversin the
area.Failureto recognizetheimportanceof thepink
salmonfisherywas dueto the largenumberof vertebraeexhibitingwhat appearedto be two winter
growthlines.Pinksalmonalmostinvariablyspawn
in their second year.A comparativespecimenof
pinksalmonandmanyof the archaeologicalspecimens identifiedthroughaDNA as pink salmon
show two growthincrements.If these represented
wintergrowth,as inferredin theradiographic
analyfish.Studies
sis, theywouldindicatethree-year-old
have shown, however,that scales of pink salmon
often exhibita supplementarycheck line thatcan
be confused with a winter annulus (Bilton and
Ricker1965).Sincethe aDNAresultsareunequivocal in theiridentificationof pinksalmon,we must
concludethata proportionof thesefishexhibittwo
visible incrementsin theirverteradiographically
brae.This observationmakesthe alreadyambiguous resultsof the radiographicanalysiseven less
usefulfor the purposeof species identification.
Species identificationsare supportedby consistent results obtained from multiple DNA
sequences.The majority(87.1 percent)of the 116
26.9
48.4
20.0
11.8
18.2
27.6
n
2
0
1
0
2
5
Coho
%
7.7
0.0
5.0
0.0
9.1
4.3
Chinook
%
n
1
3.8
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
0.0
0
1
0.9
Totals
n
26
31
20
17
22
116
%
100
100
100
100
100
100
positively identifiedsamples was identifiedconsistentlyfromat least two differentmitochondrial
fragments,fromthe cytochromeb gene andthe Dloop regionrespectively(Yanget al. 2004). Fifteen
vertebraewere successfully identifiedfrom only
one DNA fragment,which could be attributedto
poorDNA preservation,since in most cases these
resultswere from a shorterfragment(Yanget al.
2004). The overall high DNA extractionsuccess
rateof 95.1 percentfor all the samplesexamined
(122 in total) confirmsthatthe PacificNorthwest
region of NorthAmericaprovidesvery favorable
conditionsfor DNA preservationin ancientfaunal
remains(see also Spelleret al. 2005).
Contaminationbetween samples and between
ancientand modernDNA was preventedthrough
use of the strictestpossiblecontaminationprevention protocols(Yanget al. 2004). Followingpublication of the initial results of DNA extraction
fromarchaeologicalsamplesof salmonbone(Yang
et al. 2004), theefficiencyof aDNAextractionwas
optimizedto sucha degreethatanadequateamount
of DNA could be obtainedfromjust one half of a
singlevertebra.Thisenabledrepetitionof theanalysis, and a furthercheck on the accuracy of the
results.We appliedthis test to approximately10
percentof the positively identifiedsamples, and
identicalDNA sequenceswere reproducedin all
cases.Analysisalso followeda blindtest systemin
whichthe DNA analyst(Yang)was unawareof the
provenanceof the samplesas they were submitted
for analysis. This prevented any possibility of
unconsciousbias based on expectationsof particularpatternsin the results.
The remainingissue is whether the samples
selectedfor analysisarerepresentativeof the fishery as represented by the overall assemblage.
Although116samplesis verylargeby thestandards
of most aDNA studies,it is still a very smallnumber relativeto the morethan200,000 salmonver-
REPORTS
129
Figure 2. Namu site and the location of excavation units that yielded salmon vertebrae identified through aDNA analysis (see Table 2).
tebraerecoveredin the last threeseasonsof excavationat the site. The possibilitythatvertebraein
some cases representmultipleelementsfrom the
same fish must also be addressed.For these reasons we provideextensivediscussionof sampling
proceduresto supportourcontentionthattheresults
presentedin Table1 accuratelyrepresentthenature
of the salmonfisheryoverthe courseof sevenmillennia.
Sampling
A mapof the Namusite (Figure2) showsthe loca-
tion of units excavatedover the courseof six seasons, firstin 1968-1970 by the Universityof Colorado, under the direction of James J. Hester
(HesterandNelson 1978),andthenin 1977-1978,
andin 1994by SimonFraserUniversity,underthe
directionofRoy L.Carlson(1979, 1991,1996).The
mapalso showsthe locationof augersamplescollected by Cannonin 1994 (Cannon2000a). Samples selected for aDNA analysis were obtained
fromone of the unitsexcavatedin the Rivermouth
Trenchin 1994, fourunits from the CentralMain
Trenchexcavatedin 1977, a unitfromeach of the
1 30
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
Frontand RearTrenchesexcavatedin 1970, and
two of the augersamplinglocationsin the vicinity
of the FrontTrench.Thisrangeof excavationunits
allowedus to obtaincomparable-sizesamplesfrom
securelydatedcontextsrepresentingthe full span
of the last 7,000 years.
Table2 liststhespecificsampledcontexts,along
with associatedradiocarbondates, the numberof
recoveredvertebraefrom which the sample was
drawn,themodeof sampleselection,andtheresults
of aDNA analysis.Giventhe largenumberof vertebraerecoveredfrommost contextsandthe wide
rangeof contextsfromwhichsamplesweredrawn,
we do not expect that the possibility of drawing
multiple samples from the same individualfish
would have had a markedbiasing effect on our
results.The mode of sampleselection,involvinga
combinationof deliberateselection for particular
size orsizerangeandrandomsamplingdoespotentially influence our results and for that reason
requiresfurtherdiscussion.
Oursamplingstrategydevelopedovertheyears
as the projectand its goals developed.Ourinitial
concern was to determine whether aDNA
sequencesof sufficientlengthfor species identificationwere preservedwithinarchaeologicalsamples of vertebrae. Accordingly, we selected a
sampleof thelargerandmostrecentvertebraethen
available at McMaster University. These were
among fauna from the upper levels of the units
excavatedby SimonFraserUniversityin 1994.We
presumedthat the best chance for aDNA preservationwas in morerecentsamplesandfurtherreasonedthatextractionof sufficientaDNAwas more
likely with largervertebrae.Based on our initial
successwe expandedoursamplingto includeolder
specimensanda widerrangeof sizes.At this stage
we beganto drawsamplesfroma randomsplit of
thevertebraerecoveredfromeachcontext.Thevertebraassemblagesweredividedwith a soil sample
splitterto yield a numberclose orequalto the sample size we were lookingto examine.We chose to
lookata rangeof vertebrasizeswithinthesplitsamples in orderto maximize the potentialrange of
speciesrepresented.Ourgoal was to determinethe
species range of the fishery.With our success in
identifyinga varietyof species fromdepositscontainingtheearliestpreservedfaunalremainswe set
aboutto obtainmorerepresentativesamplesfrom
thewidestrangeof temporalcontexts.Theexpense
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
of aDNA analysis precludedour examinationof
samplesof sufficientsize to be statisticallyrepresentative.Instead,we optedfor randomlyselected
samplesof small size froma greaterrangeof spatial andtemporalcontexts.
In the end, oursamplesarepotentiallyunrepresentative due to the small numberof vertebrae
selected from any given context and because in
some cases we deliberatelyselected samplesrepresentingthe widest range of vertebrasizes. The
nonrandomselectionof some samplesmay not be
a significantbiasingfactor.The figuresin Table3
show thatthe overallresultsfor the randomlyand
nonrandomlyselected samples are similar.The
decision to select for a range of vertebrasizes in
some cases did resultin an exaggeratedrepresentationof the largestandsmallestvertebrae,but,as
discussedbelow, this likely did not greatlyskew
the species representation.
We believe the consistency of species representation between individual contexts is the
strongestindicatorthat our results are generally
representative.Even samplesconsistingof as few
as fourvertebraeconsistentlyshowanemphasison
pink salmon. There are no grossly anomalous
resultsforanycontext.Ourobservationof ananomalous lack of pink salmon in deposits dating to
Period5 (2000 cal B.C.-cal A.D. 1) was also consistentfor multiplecontextsdatingto thatperiod
andto the earlypartof Period6 (cal A.D. 1-EuropeanContact).Initiallywe thoughtthisresultmight
be due to our early emphasison largervertebrae
fromthe firstcontextwe sampled(Unit66-68S, 46W; 70-80 cm DBS), which dated to this time
period.To compensateand to determinewhether
the low numberof pinksalmonwas simplya sampling effect, we resampledfromthe same context
with a deliberateemphasis on smallervertebrae
withinthe split sample.The resultsyielded a disnumberof sockeye,alongwitha few
proportionate
verifiedthatthe low numberof pink
but
they
pink,
salmon was not a function of initially selecting
largervertebraefromthis particularcontext.
The range of directlyor indirectlyassociated
radiocarbon
datesshowsthattheidentifiedsamples
cover a wide rangeof securelydatedcontexts.We
thinkthis lends furthercredenceto ourinterpretation thatthe resultsarerepresentativeof the span
of the last 7,000 yearsof site occupation.The consistency of our results across this range of dated
131
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1 32
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
Table3. Comparisonof Salmon Species IdentificationsBased on Randomlyand Non-RandomlySelected Vertebrae.
Pink
non
Period
ran
P6 (AD 1 - Contact)
74325
P5(2000BC-AD 1) 23292
P4 (3000 - 2000 BC)
54423
P3 (4000 - 3000 BC)
76021
P2 (5000 - 4000 BC)
65322
22
Site total
27
36.1
49.1
Percentage
Chum
ran
non
12
21.8
17
27.9
Sockeye
non
22
13
10
10
21
13
19
31.1
23.6
ran
Coho
non
ran
0
0
0
1
0
1
2
3
3.3
5.5
Chinook
non
ran
01
00
00
00
00
1
0
1.6
0.0
Following Cannon's earlier studies (1988,
1991), which showed wide variationin the sizes
of vertebraeand some correlationto differences
in inferredage classes and potentialspecies represented,we recordedthe transversediameterof
vertebraebefore their destructionfor analysis.
The results for the aDNA identifiedsamples are
shown in Figure 3a. Figure 3b shows the results
of similar measurementsof statistically representativesamplesof vertebraefromall excavation
contextsin the 3.5 m depthof depositsin unit 6870S, 4-6W of the Rivermouthtrench,which was
excavated in 1978 (Cannon 1991). Comparison
showsthe aDNA samplesareveryclose to the size
range and profile of the much larger combined
numberfrom statisticallyrepresentativesamples,
with the exception, as noted, of some exaggeration in the numberof very large and very small
vertebrae.
The exaggeratedemphasison large and small
vertebraeprobablydoes notgreatlybiasthespecies
in ourresults.Withthe exceptionof
representation
the one chinook vertebra,which measured 18.0
mm in diameter,all the aDNA identifiedvertebrae
measuring10.5 mm in diameteror greaterwere
identifiedas chum.All thevertebraemeasuring8.0
mm in diameteror less were eitherpink or sockeye. The full rangeof species otherthanchinook
was representedbetween8.0 and 10.5 mm.Among
MetricAnalysis
the representativesample of vertebrameasureOne furthercheck on the representativeness
of the ments,854 or45.5 percentwere <8.0 mm and280
samplecomesfromthemetricdata,specificallythe or 14.9 percentwere > 10.5 mm.Amongthe meawidth of vertebrae,which was obtainedfor most suredaDNA analyzedsamples,51 or 47.7 percent
samples prior to analysis. These results show a were < 8.0 mmand 17 or 15.9percentwere > 10.5
slightbiastowardlargerandsmallervertebrae,but mm.Ouridentificationsmaythereforeshowa very
supportthe patternof species representationindi- slight exaggerationin the numberof chum,pink,
cated by the identifications.They also point to and sockeye, but given the closeness of the size
anotherpossible way to infer species from larger rangeof the aDNA sampleto thatof the represensampleswithoutthe need for an impracticalscale tativesample,we thinkanybiasis likely to be very
of aDNA analysis.
slight andprobablyoffset to a greatdegreeby the
contextssuggeststheyarenottheproductof a small
number of unrepresentativedeposition events.
Althoughwe acknowledgethatoursamplingstrategy is far from ideal, we feel we have followed
everyavailablemeansfor ensuringthe samplesare
unbiasedwithoutincurringtheimpracticalexpense
of time and money neededto analyzetrulyrepresentativesamples of vertebraefrom all available
contexts.
We must also acknowledgethat archaeologically recoveredvertebraemay be biasedfrom the
outset as the resultof differentialprocessingand
depositionof species. Unfortunatelylittle can be
doneto controlforsuchunknownfactors.Thepresence of remainsfromall availablespecies suggests
thatprocessingand depositionfactorswere probably not a significantsourceof bias. One possibility thatmight contributeto biased representation,
especially the emphasis on pink salmon, is that
recoveredvertebraerepresentdiscardedstoresthat
hadeitherspoiledorwerein excess of winterneeds
andthereforethrownout when freshfood became
availablein the spring.This possibilitycannotbe
assessedbasedon theavailableevidence,andmight
notbe evidentin anycase,butit wouldprovidefurther supportfor the contentionthat the emphasis
on pinksalmonis dueto harvestandprocessingfor
storageratherthanfor immediateconsumption.
REPORTS
133
Figure 3. Transverse diameters of salmon vertebrae for: (a) aDNA identified samples, and (b) the combined statistically
representativesamples drawn from each vertical excavation context in Unit 68-70S, 4-6W.
fact that there is a bias toward both larger and
smallerspecimens.
Implications
If, as we contend,the aDNA resultsare an accurate representationof the range and relativeproportionsof species comprisingthe Namu salmon
fishery,thentheyminimallyindicatea multispecies
fisherywith an overwhelmingemphasison pink
salmon,a strongbut lesser emphasison sockeye
and chum, much less focus on coho, andjust the
presenceof chinook.Theyalso showthatthesepatternsare consistentover time, with the exception
of an anomalousdecline in the representationof
pink salmon,beginningsometime after 2000 cal
B.C. andpossiblyendingby aboutcal A.D. 1000.
We thinkthe implicationsof these resultsarealso
more far-reachingwith respectto resourceselectioncriteria,the likelihoodof sedentarysettlement
and storagethroughoutthe past 7,000 years, and
the cause of disruptionin the fisheryandlocal and
regionalsettlementafterca. 2000 cal B.C.
ResourceSelection
Wewereinitiallysomewhatsurprisedby the strong
emphasison pink salmon.In partthis was due to
falseexpectationscreatedby theproblematicinterpretationof radiographicanalyses. We had also
expected greaterselection of species possessing
whatmightreasonablybe consideredsuperiorqualities. We expectedan emphasison chum because
of theirlargerbody size andlow fatcontent,which
makesthem superiorcandidatesfor preservation,
and on sockeye and coho because of theirhigher
fat content,which makes them a richersourceof
food forfreshconsumption.Pinksalmonhavevery
low fat content,which makesthemwell suitedfor
preservation,but they are generallysmallerthan
otherspecies.
Romanoff (1985) provides an overview of
Pacific Northwestethnographicinformationthat
describesthe selectionof low-fatsalmonfor their
superiorpreservationqualities.Fishwithhigherfat
content were more likely to become rancid or
moldyif preserved.If the aim of the Namufishery
was primarilyto acquirefishforpreservation,then
the focus on leanerpink and chum salmonwould
make most sense. The greateremphasison pink
ratherthan chum, which is most often described
as thespeciesof choiceforpreserethnographically
vation,andwhichmightbe expectedto be theoptimal choice on the basis of size, is less easy to
explain.It is possible thatthe relativeproportions
of these species was morea functionof theiravailability,or it could be thatthe smallerpink salmon
requiredless processingfor storagethanthe larger
chum.
A fisheryfocusedprimarilyon harvestforfresh
consumptionmighthave selectedsockeyeor coho
over pink and chum, since relativefat contentis
such an importantindicatorof food preference
worldwide (Speth
among hunter-fisher-gatherers
andSpielmann1983).Thepresenceof pink,chum,
andsockeyein suchlargerelativeproportionssuggests eitherthatfreshconsumptionandprocessing
forlong-termstoragewerebothimportantelements
of the fisheryor thatthe fisherywas more oppor-
1 34
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
is difficult to define with any precision since
dependingon the fishing methodsused different
species mightbe availablefor harvestover a long
periodof time.Most speciesspendtimein thebays
andestuariesadjacentto spawningstreamsbefore
they actuallyascendthe streamto spawn.A fisheryfocusedon thefishgatheredin theestuarycould
have access to a rangeof species, eitherduringa
relativelyshortperiodin latesummerorovermuch
of the summerand early autumn.A focus on the
harvestof fish as they ascendedthe riverto spawn
wouldbe restrictedto muchnarrowertimeframes.
Thesetimeswouldbe specificfor eachspeciesand
would extend from late summer well into the
autumn.
Sockeye generallyarriveearliestin the areaof
the centralcoast, schoolingin the bays andestuaries of coastalstreamsbeginningin June.Theytypically ascendriversto spawnin tributarysystems
draininginto freshwaterlakesby late Julyor early
August (Pomeroy 1980:207).Pink and chum are
the next to arrivein the region.The peakarrivalof
pinkis aroundlateJulyandearlyAugust(Aroand
Shepard1967:282);chum arriveslightly later in
August (Salo 1991:237).Both species can spend
considerabletimein baysandestuaryenvironments
priorto spawning(Hunter1959:844). Most also
spawn in the lower intertidalreaches of coastal
streams.Pinktypicallyspawnin Augustand September,while chum spawningtakesplace mainly
in September(Aro and Shepard1967:259, 282).
Coho arethe latestspecies to spawnon the central
coast,withpeakspawningtakingplacein October
(AroandShepard1967:289).A widerangeof environmentalvariablescan affect the specifictiming
of spawningruns(Heard1991:136).Based on the
time of arrivalin bays andestuariesandthe ascent
of spawningstreams,it is conceivablethatall four
species could be availablein the vicinity of the
Namu site within a relativelynarrowtime period
in earlyAugust.Based on the times of peak availability and the enhanced opportunityto harvest
species as they ascendedor gatheredto ascendthe
NamuRiver,a fisheryfocusedon pink,chum,and
sockeyeis morelikely to haveextendedfromJuly
throughSeptember.
If fishingwas focusedon the harvestof species
fromtheestuaryenvironment,it mightwell be posSedentismand Storage
siblethatthefisherywastheproductof a short-term
The seasonaltiming of the Namu salmonfishery aggregation.If the purposeof such an aggregation
tunistic,with nutritionand preservationqualities
playinglittle if any role in species selection.
If the decidingcriterionfor resourceselection
was not a combinationof the richnessand size of
the individualspecies, but insteadwas theirrelative abundance,thenthe emphasison pink salmon
is muchmoreeasily explained.By currentcounts
pink salmon are overwhelminglymore abundant
thanotherspeciesin the centralcoastregion(FisheriesandOceansCanada2001). Chumis currently
the second-most common species in the small
streamsandriversof the centralcoast,followedby
sockeye andcoho in roughlyequalnumbers.Chinook do not generallyspawnin the small streams
in the region.Escapementrecordsshow considerable variabilityin the numbersof differentspecies
between streams and over time, but based on
regionalaveragesthe apparentemphasison pink
salmon might be expected on the basis of their
greateravailability.
An opportunisticfishingstrategywouldrequire
thatpeopleharvestwhateverfish were availablein
numbersproportional
to theiravailability.Basedon
ethnographic information from hunter-fishergatherersworldwideand from the Pacific NorthwestCoastin particular,
thispossibilitywouldseem
unlikely.We can say very little aboutthe fishing
methodsused in any particularperiod.Thereis a
large stone-walledfish trap at the mouth of the
Namu River(Carlsonand Dalla Bona 1996:110),
but the date of its constructionis unknown.It is
likely thata varietyof methodswere used to harvest salmonover the past 7,000 years.Most if not
all wouldhaveprovidedampleopportunityto exercise species selection,as for examplein the choice
to keeporreturnindividualfishcaughtwithintraps
or in the timingof fishingon the riverto coincide
with the time thatparticularspecies ascendedthe
riverto spawn. The simplest explanationfor the
diversityof the salmonfisheryis thatit represents
deliberateselectionof a rangeof availablespecies
for theirrichness(sockeye)andpreservationqualities (pink and chum). The furtherimplicationis
thatthe variablefocus on differentspecies for differentpurposesextendedover the longer term of
the fishingseason, as the availabilityof particular
species waxed andwaned.
REPORTS
was primarilyfor the harvestand consumptionof
freshfish, then the indiscriminateharvestof large
quantitiesof pinkandchumsalmon,alongwiththe
richerandthereforemoredesirablesockeyeis more
difficultto explain.A series of selective fisheries
in thebay andestuaryenvironmentcombinedwith
selective harvestof species as they ascendedthe
Namu River to spawn entails much longer residency,fromJulythroughto October.If thepurpose
in selectingpink and chum salmonin such large
numberswas to processthemfor storage,thenthe
implicationis thata sizeableportionof the population continuedto reside at the site throughthe
winter,upto andincludingthetimeof thepeakherring fisheryin March.The presenceof neo-natal
harborseal shows that some people were also at
the site aroundmid June.
Based on the new level of precision in our
knowledgeof the Namu salmonfishery,thereare
two optionsto accountfor the availabledata.One
is to proposea short-termspecies-indiscriminate
freshfood fisheryat the site sometimein mid-tolate summer,with the aggregatepopulationthen
dispersingto other locations before returningin
the late winter/earlyspringfor the herringfishery.
Theotheris to proposea selectivefisheryusingdifferentmethodsto harvestdifferentspecies at differenttimesfordifferentpurposes.Thiswouldhave
entailed harvestof richer,fatter species such as
sockeye in the summer, largely for fresh consumption,coupled with laterharvestof pink and
chumsalmonin even greaternumbersfor the purto sustaina respose of processingandpreservation
identpopulationthroughthe winter.Strictlyon the
basisof seasonalavailabilityandwithoutinformation concerningthe fishing methodsused, either
possibilityis equallylikely.Based on the seasonal
andenvironmentalcircumstancesinvolvedandon
decision
our knowledgeof hunter-fisher-gatherer
of
the
that
and
in
ethnographically
making general
describedpeoples of the PacificNorthwestCoast
in particular,we thinkthe latterpropositionis far
morelikely.
The resultsof the aDNA analysisgive us new
insightinto the natureof the Namufisherythatwe
think strengthensthe argumentin favor of early
storageandsedentarysettlement,butseasonalindicatorsalone can neverestablishcontinuouspresence at a site with any certainty. Nor can the
abundanceof any one resource,even one as well
135
suitedto the purposeas pinksalmon,indicatestorage.Beyondits valuein providingmorepreciseevidence consistentwith storageand sedentism,we
think the greaterweight of the aDNA evidence
derivesfromthe consistencyof the species profile
over the past 7,000 years. The salmon fishery is
essentiallythe same in all time periods.
If the combinedweight of evidence is insufficientto demonstratea storage-basedeconomyand
permanentvillagesettlementas earlyas 7,000 years
ago, thenit is also insufficientto demonstratesimilar patternsat any time afterthat date.We think
few NorthwestCoast archaeologistswould seriously arguethat salmon storageand multiseason
village settlementwere absent anywhereon the
coastas recentlyas 1,000yearsago. Giventhatthe
evidence looks the same for 7,000 years ago as it
does for6,000 yearslater,we see no basisforinferring anythingotherthanthis type of subsistencesettlementsystem as early as the earliest faunal
evidence at Namu. The same patternmay extend
even furtherback in time, but few sites of earlier
date, includingNamu, show any substantialevidence of subsistenceor settlement.
Disruptionin the SalmonFishery
Analysis of faunalremainsrecoveredin the 1977
and 1978excavationsshoweda cleardeclinein the
relativeabundanceof salmon in the periods following 2000 cal B.C. (Cannon 1991). Salmon
remainsfromaugersamplesconfirmedthispattern
and suggestedit might be even more pronounced
(Cannon2000a).Moreintensiveuse of a varietyof
alternativeresources,some relativelymarginalin
nature,to compensateforthe shortfallsupportsthe
interpretationof later periodic disruptionin the
salmonfishery(Cannon1995, 2000b; Cannonet
al. 1999; Zita 1997). The cause of the decline is
stillunknown,thoughCannon( 199 1:39) hadspeculated that siltation of the productivespawning
beds in the lowerreachesof the NamuRivermight
be responsible.Radiocarbondatinghas shownthat
occupationin thevicinityof theRivermouthTrench
ended duringthis time, suggestinga reductionin
the size of the settlement.Testing and dating of
othersites in the area show nearbyvillages were
establishedaroundthe same time. Cannon(2002)
has suggestedthatthese local andregionaldevelopmentsarelinkedto disruptionsin theNamufishery, which might have encouragedsome families
1 36
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
AMERICANANTIQUITY
to resettleat alternativevillage locations.
Withthe resultsof the aDNA analysiswe can
now attributethat disruptionand any subsequent
local andregionaleffects specificallyto failuresin
the pink fishery.Ourresultspoint to a decline in
pinksalmon,whichis evidentin all of the sampled
contextsdatingto Period5 andin thosefromPeriod
6 thatpredatecal A.D. 1000. Pinksalmonis either
absentor is less thanor equalto the abundanceof
otherspecies in all ten samplesfrom six separate
excavationcontexts dating to between 1380 cal
B.C. andcal A.D. 830 (Table2). It makesup only
17.9 percentof the 39 identifiedsalmonvertebrae
from these contexts.In contrast,pink is the most
abundantspecies in 17 of the 23 separatesamples
from 22 excavationcontexts dating to before or
afterthisperiod.It makesup 54.5 percentof the 77
identifiedvertebraefrom these contexts.The fish
remainsfromthe FrontTrench(FS 10) excavated
by theUniversityof Coloradoin 1970 havenotpreviously been reported,but our aDNA analysis
shows apparentrecoveryin the pink salmonfishery aftercal A.D. 1000, and a returnto previous
levels up until the time of European contact.
Deposits datingto the past 1,000 years were not
present in the areas excavatedby Simon Fraser
Universityin 1977 and 1978, but recentlyidentified fish remainsfrom unit FS 10 (Table4) show
thatthe intensityof the overallsalmonfisheryalso
apparentlyrecoveredaftercal A.D. 1000.
At thisstagewe do notknowthecauseorcauses
of disruptionsin thepinksalmonfisheryorthereasonsforits laterapparent
recovery.A newapproach,
whichis nowfeasible,will be to determinewhether
therewas a dramaticchangein the geneticprofile
of the pink salmonpopulationbeforeandafterthe
periodof disruption.A clear change will indicate
a catastrophicpatternof populationextinctionand
recolonization.In contrast,a strongindicationof
genetic continuityin the local populationwould
suggest a lesser degree of depression on pink
salmonproductivityover this periodof time.
Thesignificanceof tyingdisruptionof theNamu
fishery specificallyto pink salmon is that it suggests an even greaterpotentialimpacton the lives
of residentsat the site, since thiswas likelyto have
been a storagestaplethatwas criticalfor survival
throughthe winter.If failureof this stapleresource
was, as is likely, also unpredictable,it mighthave
been difficult if not impossible to compensate
Table4. Abundanceof Salmon Remainsby Stratumin
FrontTrenchUnit FS-10.
Associated
14Cdates
Stratum
FS 10.1
FS 10.2
FS 10.3
480±80
FS 10.4
FS 10.5
FS 10.6
FS 10.7
FS 10.8
680±90
FS 10.9
FS 10.10
FS 10.11 980±100, 1840±80
1470±80
FS 10.12
FS 10.13
FS 10.14
FS 10.15
Salmon Abundance
% of fish
NISP
70.8
945
74.2
724
NO DATA
696
92.8
96.4
487
742
96.4
1664
97.7
NO DATA
73.6
374
85.6
262
56.5
1652
86.6
181
81.5
1460
85.8
262
87.5
84
throughincreasedemphasison otherspeciesor on
salmonobtainedfromotherlocations.The needto
resortto more marginalfoods, such as ratfish,at
such times would have been that much greater
(Cannon1995).The furtherimplicationis thatit is
unlikely that periodic failure of the pink fishery
was due to increasingsiltationof the NamuRiver
estuaryover the long term. Since chum and pink
salmonfavorthe same types of spawningground,
both species shouldhavebeen equallyaffectedby
permanentenvironmentalchange. It is also less
likely thatthe pink fisherywould have recovered
if this hadbeen the cause of its declineor periodic
failure.We cannotyet explainthe disruptionin the
pink fishery,but whateverthe cause, our aDNA
identificationssuggestwe can at least narrowit to
factorsspecificallyrelatedto this one species.
Discussion
The influence of preconceptionsand prevailing
frameworkson archaeologicalinterpretation
is well
documented(Trigger1989).Wecannotsayforcertain that reluctanceto accept evidence for early
salmonstorageand sedentismis due to a consensus among Northwest Coast archaeologiststhat
these developmentsarefundamentalthresholdsin
the long-termevolution of the region's cultures,
butthiswouldnotbe unprecedented.
We canpoint
to one example where a prevailingview affected
the primaryinterpretationof faunal data and its
subsequentuse by otherresearchers.
REPORTS
In his originalinterpretation
of the Namu faunaldata,Cannon(1991:43)notedthat"thescale of
salmon fishing increaseddramatically"between
Period 2 (5000-4000 cal B.C.) and Period 3
(4000-3000 cal B.C.). This interpretationwas
basedon observationof an increasein the proportionof salmonamongidentifiedfishremainsother
thanherring,from89 percentin Period2 to 98 percent in Periods3 and4. By any measure,a fishery
with an 89 percentfocus is still one largelydependenton salmonfishing.Therewas no basisforCannon's exaggerationotherthanthe influenceof an
acceptedmodelof long-termculturaldevelopment,
proposedby Fladmark(1975), which arguedthat
early dependence on salmon coincided with
increasedproductivitydue to postglacialenvironmental stabilization at around 4000 cal B.C.
Althoughthismodelas developedformajorinland
riversystemswas less applicableto small coastal
streamsandlake systems(Cannon1996), its onetime widespreadacceptanceas a model for the
entireNorthwestCoastaffectedthe interpretation
of empiricalobservationsthatshouldhaveemphasized much earlierdependenceon salmon. Cannon'sexaggerationandits basishavesubsequently
been reiteratedby other researchers(Ames and
Maschner1999:137;Coupland1998:43;Matson
andCoupland1995:140).
NorthwestCoastarchaeologistsareincreasingly
awareof greatervariationin the historyof culture
changein theregion,withrecognitionthatstorage,
may
sedentarysettlement,andsocialdifferentiation
not be as closely linkedas once thoughtand may
havedevelopedatdifferenttimesin differentplaces
on the coast (Ames and Maschner1999; Matson
2003;MatsonandCoupland1995).Thelikelihood
thatthese were not aspectsof linearevolution,but
wereratherhistoricaldevelopmentsthatmayhave
come andgone repeatedlythroughtime is increasingly embraced(Ames 2003; Moss andErlandson
1995;PrentissandChatters2003a,2003b).Despite
thismoresophisticatedview of theregion'sarchaeological history,the consensusremainsthatvariabilityin thetimingof thesedevelopmentsis largely
confined to the past 3,500 years. Even those
researcherswilling to accept the possibility of a
fully developed salmon-storage economy and
sedentarysettlementat Namuas earlyas 5000 cal
B.C. see it moreas anexceptionalcase in the overall historyof theregion(e.g.,Ames 2003:24;Pren-
137
tiss and Chatters2003b:38).
Given a consensusof opinion,it seems fair to
demanda higherstandardof evidencefor anything
thatstandsapartfromprevailingpointsof view.As
in any areaof researchthis shouldbe an incentive
to improvethe numberandqualityof lines of evidencein supportof contraryopinion.We thinkwe
have done this. The aDNA evidence is one more
piece in a long line of ancillaryevidencethatsupports Cannon'soriginalinterpretationsregarding
the earlypatternandsubsequenthistoryof subsistence and settlementat Namu. We think the evidence is also sufficientto supportdecouplingthe
adventof permanentmultiseasonalsettlementsand
storage-basedeconomiesfrompopulationgrowth
and greatersocial differentiation,as others have
also suggested(e.g.,Moss andErlandson1995:34).
There is no evidence for large-scale population
growth at Namu or anywhereon the Northwest
Coastin themillenniaimmediatelyfollowing5000
cal B.C., when salmonstorageand sedentismare
firstevident.The earliestindicationof significant
populationexpansionin the Namu vicinity is at
around1000-500 cal B.C. (Cannon2002).Theevion thecoastis more
dencefor socialdifferentiation
equivocal,and may be much later,dependingon
the definitionused.
Even if our view of the Namu salmon fishery
and its implicationsis widely accepted,it is currentlyimpossibleto say how widespreadthis pattern might have been. All current views of
long-term cultural developments on the coast,
whetherbasedon traditionalculturalevolutionary
frameworksor more recent Darwinianperspectives, mustrely on few datafrom a very few sites
dispersedover a broadarea.New consensusconcerning long-term patterns and developmental
trendsmay emergeover time, but these will need
to be basedon morethoroughanalysisandon more
extensivemultisiteinvestigations.Namuis exceptionalfor the lengthof its occupationalrecordand
for the detailof the evidence it has yielded, but it
is too soon to say if it is exceptionalfor its early
mode of permanentsettlementand storage-based
salmonfishingeconomy.
Conclusions
We have demonstrateda more extensiveapplication of aDNA analysisof faunalremainsthanhas
1 38
AMERICAN ANTIQUITY
so farbeengenerallyattemptedin archaeology.We
thinkthis researchis also unusualamong emerging aDNA applicationsin its focus on the resolution of a particular existing problem in
Our
archaeologicalknowledgeandinterpretation.
resultsprovidea new level of precisionin ourability to characterizean early salmonfisheryon the
NorthwestCoast.They show consistentemphasis
in the Namu fishery on pink salmon, as well as
strong emphasis on sockeye and chum together
with at least some harvestof coho andchinook.
We thinkthis new informationprovidesfurther
that the site was the
supportof the interpretation
focus of permanentmultiseasonsettlementand a
storageeconomyby at least 5000 cal B.C. A fully
developedsettlement-subsistence
patternof thiskind
atthisearlydateshouldalertresearchers
to theneed
to rethinkexplanatory
frameworks
thatstronglylink
populationgrowthandsocialcomplexitywithsedentismandstorage-based
economies.Wehaveshown
thataDNA insightinto the compositionof salmon
fisheriesandtheirvariabilityovertimecanalsohelp
us to understand
betterthe implicationsof resource
forpopulationsdependenton storagefor
fluctuations
wintersubsistence.
Wesee greatpotentialforgainingfurtherunderstandingof the diversityand temporalvariability
in salmonfisheriesthroughoutthe coast and over
time. Insight into the key role of salmon in the
archaeologicalhistoriesof the Pacific Northwest
Coastcanbe derivedfrommuchwiderapplication
of aDNA analysis.Much could be done with the
vertebratefaunacollectionsalreadyavailablein the
storeroomsof museums,universities,and archaeological consultingfirms.AlthoughancientDNA
analysisis andwill remainan expensiveundertaking, on a large-scale,strategicsamplingdesigned
to providedatarelevantto specificproblems,possibly coupledwith inferencesfrom vertebrasize,
canyieldmorepreciseknowledgeandbetterunderstandingof the historyandimplicationsof salmon
fishingon the NorthwestCoast.
Acknowledgments.This study was supported by Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Researchand ResearchDevelopmentInitiativesGrants.We
thankRoy L. Carlsonfor encouragingand supportinganalysis of the Namu fauna and Andrew Bartonfor all his assistance in providingaccess to the archivedcollections. Camilla
Speller, ShannonWood, Karl Hillis, and Sarah Desch provided technical assistance with the analysis. Maria-Ines
Arratiaprovidedthe Spanishtranslationof the abstract.
[Vol. 71 , No. 1 , 2006]
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