Different Strokes: The Use of Non-Agricultural Subsistence Strategies to Develop Complex Societies among Northwest Coastal Cultures
Different Strokes:
The Use of Non-Agricultural Subsistence Strategies to Develop Complex Societies among Northwest Coastal Cultures
Jim Rogers
. . .
A
distinctly complex cultural profile based primarily on fishing, hunting, and
the gathering of natural plants exists among the native inhabitants of the
Northwest Coastal region, which stretches along the Pacific Coast from Southern
Alaska to Southern Oregon.[1] As seen with native
peoples of the Arctic and Subarctic regions, the lack of agricultural practices
within these societies did not impede socio-cultural progression. Dynamic
societal developments such as distinct cosmology,
artistic styles, regional linguistics, and cooperative trade based on furs, and
artistic woodworks,(which were employed in woodworking, totem building, and
structural decoration), all occurred in the absence of agriculture, challenging
the concept that societal complexity is impossible without the advent of
agricultural surplus.[2] Furthermore, the adoption
of potlatch ceremonies, enabled the distribution of fishing, hunting, and
foraging surpluses, which in turn helped stimulate the necessary demand for a
material market, and made particular crafts, in this case, basket-making and
woodworking, into specialist industries.[3] Often thought to only
exist in cultures that produce large quantities of staple crops, the presence
of these varied developments among Northwest, Coastal cultures display the
potential for alternative forms of societal progression.
The
primary source of nutritional sustenance for Northwest Coastal peoples, such as
the Kwakwaka’wakw, was salmon, although a variety of marine animals were eaten
to supplement their diets.[4] The annual salmon runs
were a cause for celebration among Northwest Coastal cultures due to the
primacy of this resource to their continued existence.[5] The abundance of salmon
during annual runs far exceeded the subsistence needs of Northwestern Coastal
peoples in most years, but in years where the salmon runs were diminished,
reliance on local berries, tubers, and greens and terrestrial/marine game increased.
While some terrestrial animals, such as mountain goats, deer, elk, and bear,
were hunted for food, the Kwakwaka’wakw perceived themselves as a marine
people and were more inclined to engage in the hunting of sea mammals.[6] This not only resulted in
the management of famine during lean salmon years but also provided the
impetus for hunting sea otters, whose fur was later the catalyst for
Euro-Amerindian trade relationships. Due to a confluence of readily accessible
food resources in the Northwest Coastal region, the practice of agricultural
cultivation never expanded among the native peoples.
Despite
the lack of agricultural development, the Kwakwaka’wakw, and other Northwest
Coastal Cultures, shifted from purely nomadic groups to sedentary settlers.
The ability to encamp near river systems that transported spawning salmon would
have provided the time and inspiration for the development of sophisticated
fishing techniques, such as the construction of wooden fish weirs which greatly
increased fishing yields. This weir system is not unlike the structures
utilized throughout European river systems until the advent of sea fishing
around the 15th century. Salmon surpluses were then dried, smoked, or turned
into pemmican in order to sustain the native peoples throughout the winter
months when food supplies became less available. This storage of fish would
have made it difficult to travel freely, and as such, centralized,
semi-permanent, winter houses were utilized to enable sedentary living.[7] Sedentary lifestyles can
only exist when a surplus of food is cultivated. Otherwise, nomadic lifestyles
are adopted to keep pace with sustenance demands.
The
development of potlatch ceremonies, which allowed for the distribution of food
surpluses and artisan goods, was a key innovation in cultivating material
trade.[8] Rather than being
egalitarian, these potlatches enhanced societal hierarchies, which in turn
created surpluses of social influence for specific groups or bands.[9] The presence of
hierarchies is a trademark of complexified society, as it allows for an unequal
distribution of material access, which in turn creates an economy. Economies
often exist alongside agricultural societies due to the presence of surpluses,
and the consolidation of wealth to specific groups with increased purchasing
power. Interestingly, Northwest Coastal Cultures were able to eliminate the linkage
between agriculture and economic development due to a natural imbalance between
predators and prey. As such, territorial disputes were a major driver of
conflict between Northwest Coastal peoples. Rather than defending fertile
farmland, the natives defended their salmon harvesting systems.[10] The later development of
fur trade with the Brits resulted in an unsustainable demand on once-abundant
natural resources as European populations swelled in the region and depleted
fish stocks, as well as timber and sea otters. This illuminates one of the
largest flaws in a non-agricultural subsistence system; the lack of a
controllable harvest to increase sustenance yields for a quickly expanding
population.
Despite
the absence of agriculture among Northwest Coastal Cultures, their societies
flourished and grew increasingly complex. As the annual salmon runs supplied a
generous surplus, winter survival became easier. The necessary establishment of
semi-permanent houses with storage capacity, and protection from winter
weather, lead to a more sedentary society that had free time to engage in
artisan works, religious philosophizing, and technological innovation. The
development of the fish weir, among other techniques, increased surpluses for
groups who had access to the resources and skills required to construct these
aquatic corrals. As potlatches gained prominence, the rank and status of
individual groups grew according to their personal wealth, no doubt aiding in
the conception of social hierarchies. Artisan trades, often thought to only
exist in agricultural societies, flourished due to this availability of salmon,
resulting in an artistic surplus, which allowed for aesthetic items to be
crafted rather than tools alone. These societal developments directly challenge
the notion that agriculture is the sole means by which a society can complexify,
offering an alternative route by which early sophisticated cultures could have
evolved.
[1-10]
Mark Sutton, Introduction to Native North America, Fifth Edition,
(Routledge, 2017), p. 125
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