How archaeology illuminates the confluence of people, places, and events that shaped the Pacific Northwest
Bordered
by the Rocky Mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west,
the Pacific Northwest—including Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British
Columbia—is home to a diverse range of people and cultures whose history
is closely tied to the natural environment. In this book, Douglas
Wilson uses historical documents, Indigenous oral traditions, and the
material record to provide a comprehensive overview of the region’s
historical archaeology from the seventeenth through the twenty-first
centuries.
The book covers Lewis and Clark’s Fort
Clatsop; fur trade forts such as Fort Vancouver, Fort Langley, and Fort
Nez Percés; Indigenous villages such as Middle Village and Yuquot; the
Christian mission at Waiilatpu; the Oregon Trail; the settler town of
Champoeg; and military locations including Fort Lane, San Juan Island,
and Fork Hoskins. Wilson describes how extractive industries like
fishing, mining, logging, and fur trapping transformed the environment
and the human population. He also discusses transportation, urban
development, racism, and government policies through the Great
Depression and World War II.
Central to the story of the
American experience in the Pacific Northwest is the heritage and history
of local Indigenous peoples, as well as descendant communities of
European, African, Asian, and Pacific Islands ancestry. Wilson shows how
material artifacts and landscapes can be compared with the documentary
record to critically examine colonial and nationalistic narratives,
illuminating the past and present of Indigenous peoples and immigrant
groups in the region.
A volume in the series the American Experience in Archaeological Perspective, edited by Michael S. Nassaney and Krysta Ryzewski
