Hoko River Archaeological Complex: Modeling Prehistoric Northwest Coast Economic Evolution

Dale R. Croes; Steven Hackenberger

doi:10.7273/000007527

The Hoko River site complex is located about 30 km from the northwest tip of the Olympic Peninsula, along the Strait of Juan de Fuca. This complex consists of two temporally distinct areas of prehistoric oc¬cupation: (l) an upriver waterlogged (wet) and adjoining (dry) campsite area (45CA213) dating from 3000 to 2200 BP, and (2) a rivermouth site within a large rockshelter (45CA21), occupied from about 900 to 100 BP. We shall examine six propositions that represent our synthesis of current hypotheses about the nature and rate of economic changes thought to be crucial to the development of Northwest Coast societies. At the outset we should note that we do not discount Fladmark's (1975) argument for the possible importance of the early (5000 BP) stabilization of anadromous fish populations (if, in fact, this did occur), but we do not agree that this phenomenon represents a necessary and/or sufficient cause of economic changes on the Northwest Coast. For each proposition it is possible to cite works presenting related ideas, although not always stated as hy¬potheses by the original authors: 1. population growth and regional population circumscription occurred by 4000-3000 BP and depleted resource bases (Schalk 1977; Ames 1979, 1981; Matson 1983), 2. resource depletion (lowered economic efficiency) required the in-tensification of resource use in late spring, summer, and fall, and the storage of greater amounts of resources for use in winter and early spring (Schalk 1977, Matson 1983), 3. intensified resource use and increased storage permitted higher hu¬man population carrying capacities (continued population growth) and increased the sedentism of social groupings (Schalk 1977, Ames 1981, Matson 1983), 4. maintenance of higher population levels depended primarily on the use of anadromous fish resources (Fladmark 1975, Schalk 1977), 5. efficient use of anadromous fish required centralized authority (so¬cial ranking) for the organization of labor and/or the redistribution of resources (Suttles 1968, Fladmark 1975, Schalk 1977, Ames 1981) and 6. resource depletion required resource management, and resource ownership facilitated such management while creating differential access to resources and the accumulation and expenditure of wealth to retain rights to manage the use of resource areas (Matson 1983, Richardson 1982, Easton n.d.). From this research, the well-documented CULTURAL PHASES (TYPES)-Pebble Tool, Old Cordilleran, St. Mungo, Locarno Beach, Marpole, and Gulf of Georgia-appear to be better termed ECONOMIC STAGES (OR PLATEAUS) that are underlain by (a) early exponential population growth, (b) eventual territorial circumscription (about 4,000 BP), and (c) critical resource stresses. Thus, the region-wide horizontal trends seen in these economic stages or plateaus may reflect a widespread pattern and resulting shift in subsistence solutions, not cultural style or population shifts.

Hoko River Archaeological Complex: Modeling Prehistoric Northwest Coast Economic Evolution

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