{"product_id":"peoples-of-the-northwest-coast-their-archaeology-and-prehistory-9780500050910","title":"Peoples of the Northwest Coast: Their Archaeology and Prehistory","description":"\u003cp\u003eAmericas Northwest Coast is one of the richest and most distinct cultural areas on earth  extending some 1400 miles from Alaska to northern California. The region is famous for the magnificent art--masks  totem poles  woven blankets--produced by the ancient worlds most politically and economically complex hunters and gatherers. For well over a century the area has been the focus of intensive ethnographic and art historical research  yet a distorted picture has arisen of a static society  a \"people without a history.\" Only now  thanks to recent archaeological fieldwork  are scholars recovering that history. As this pioneering account shows  the history of settlement on the Northwest Coast stretches back some eleven thousand years. With the stabilization of sea levels after 4000 B.C.  many of the regions salient features began to emerge. Salmon fishing supported rapid population growth to a peak over one thousand years ago  and the available trees such as red cedar could be used for vast houses and seaworthy canoes. Large households and permanent villages emerged alongside slavery and a hereditary nobility. Warfare became endemic  initially hand-to-hand  but later characterized by the development of fortresses and the bow and arrow. Art evolved from simple carvings and geometric designs to the specialized crafts of the modern era.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45646648541237,"sku":"ByrdShop_0500050910","price":92.97,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780500050910.jpg?v=1781676729","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/peoples-of-the-northwest-coast-their-archaeology-and-prehistory-9780500050910","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}