Chronology and Culture Change in the San Juan Islands, Washington

Abstract

The archaeological sequence in the San Juan Islands is known best from two phases: the Marpole phase which occurs within the first millennium B.C., and the San Juan phase which lasts from at least A.D. 1300 to historic times. More difficult to place culturally and chronologically are: (1) the previously excavated bluff areas of Cattle Point which contain components similar to Whalen I and II and would thus occupy the time period between about 500 B.C. and A.D. 400; and (2) the Argyle Lagoon site which, though early, cannot be related definitely to other components because of insufficient excavation. Culture change is shown by increasing maritime adaptation through time and by the gradual replacement of the chipped stone industry by one using abrading and polishing techniques as the result of influence from the Old World.