GOING WITH THE FLOW: MODELING PALEOCOASTAL MARITIME MOBILITY IN THE CALIFORNIA CHANNEL ISLANDS

This thesis evaluates how the paleoceanographic seascape influenced the seafaring pathways of Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene (LP/EH) Paleocoastal period people in the Southern California Bight. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), I created a maritime mobility model for the California Channel Islands built on optimal foraging theory principles related to risk reduction, uniformitarian seafaring concepts, and multiple lines of paleoceanographic evidence. The model reveals LP/EH oceanic conditions directly influenced Paleocoastal maritime mobility. A test of the model is achieved using the geo-spatial location of archaeological sites and kelp beds, lithic raw material conveyance patterns, and ethnographic data. The model successfully identifies predicted watercraft landing zones with nearby subaerial archaeological sites and accessible kelp beds. The conveyance patterns and ethnographic data support and expand on these lines of evidence. The model’s demonstrated utility indicates it can be used to narrow search areas around the California Channel Islands for potentially submerged Paleocoastal period archaeological sites. Locating submerged sites and cultural landscapes is the initiative of the Indigenous coastal California tribes.