Investigating the complexities of sustainable fishing at a prehistoric village on western Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

SummaryZooarchaeological data provide direct evidence of long-term human resource utilization relevant to the modern study of sustainability and conservation. On the northwest coast of North America, prehistoric aboriginal communities relied heavily on nearshore marine fish species, many of which have life history characteristics that make them vulnerable to overexploitation. This study examines temporal trends in the abundance and distribution of nearshore fish from skeletal remains recovered from three separate areas of a prehistoric coastal village on the west coast of Vancouver Island (ca. 1800–250 yr BP). Over the course of 1500 years, site inhabitants from these contemporaneously occupied areas regularly utilized Sebastes spp. (rockfish), with varying impacts on abundance and total length. Contrasting temporal trends in Sebastes spp. total length in separate village areas suggest different consequences to prehistoric harvesting practices, differences that can be linked to ethnographic and archaeological evidence of lineage-based territories. These long-term zooarchaeological data provide unique insights into the context and challenges of sustainable resource use in prehistory and can inform contemporary conservation efforts focused on similar species in this modern-day marine protected area.