Every year thousands of people visit the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. With a copy of Exploring Coast Salish Prehistory in hand, they will enjoy an introduction both to archaeology in general and to sites within San Juan Island National Historic Park.

The Coast Salish people inhabited the San Juans for 5,000 years. One important site on San Juan Island, Cattle Point, was a summer camp where residents engaged in fishing and shellfish harvesting. Native peoples' recollections of activities there have been confirmed by physical evidence in the form of shell...