title: Holocene history of cedar and native Indian cultures of the north american pacific coast.
abstract: A comparison of paleobotanical records with archeological and ethnographic evidence from the Pacific Northwest shows a strong correlation between the expansion of Western red cedar (Thuja plicata) in coastal forests between 5000 and 2500 years ago and the evolution of a massive woodworking technology by native cultures. This suggests that an important component of cultural development was environmentally constrained until large cedar trees, the basic resource for canoe-building and plank-house construction, had become available in late Holocene time.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hebda
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Mathewes