The Historical Archaeology of the Pacific Northwest

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Wilson uses historical documents, Indigenous oral traditions, and the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 Perc?s; 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