Journal of Archaeological Science (2000) 27, 621–633 doi:10.1006/jasc.1999.0493, available online at http://www.idealibrary.com on Early Holocene Fishing Strategies on the California Coast: Evidence from CA-SBA-2057 Torben C. Rick and Jon M. Erlandson Department of Anthropology, 1218 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1218, U.S.A. (Received 5 March 1999, revised manuscript accepted 21 August 1999) Limited excavations at CA-SBA-2057, an 8300 year old shell midden located on the Santa Barbara Coast, yielded over 3000 fish bones. Fish remains from this buried, single component site indicate that the occupants fished primarily in the sandy, calm water environments of a nearby bay or estuary. The assemblage is dominated by clupeids (sardine or herring), small elasmobranchs, and surfperch, suggesting that net fishing was important, and occurred primarily during late spring and summer. Although fish were probably a supplemental food resource, Early Holocene peoples of the Santa Barbara Channel clearly had the ability to capture a diverse array of marine fish using a variety of techniques. The focus on small fish, shellfish, and seeds—long before population pressures and intensification became significant issues—raises questions about aspects of recent intensification models that assume large animals are always optimal subsistence choices.  2000 Academic Press Keywords: MARITIME ADAPTATIONS, EARLY HOLOCENE, CALIFORNIA, FAUNAL REMAINS, FISHING. Introduction T he Pacific Coast of North America is well known for the antiquity and abundance of its early archaeological sites (see Jones, 1991; Lightfoot, 1993; Moss & Erlandson, 1995; Erlandson & Moss, 1996). Most of these early sites are located along the southern California Coast, where more than 75 sites over 7000 years old are known to exist (Erlandson, 1994). Maritime peoples occupied the southern California Coast, including many of the Channel Islands, by at least 9000 to 10,500 radiocarbon years before present ()(Erlandson et al., 1996). While a number of studies have focused on faunal remains from Early Holocene sites on the Pacific Coast, relatively little is known about the fishing practices of these early people. Significant gaps remain in our understanding of the dietary significance of fishing, the seasons and habitats in which fishing occurred, as well as the relationship of early fishing practices with later cultural developments. Along the California Coast, much of the problem lies in the severe stratigraphic mixing of most mainland sites, where animal burrow- ing and other disturbance processes in multicomponent sites often prevent precise dating of fish remains. The historical reliance on coarse recovery techniques ( 1 4-inch screens, or no screens, etc.) has also biased many faunal samples, while the exclusive use of column samples often limits the size of assemblages recovered with fine screen recovery techniques. In this paper, we present data on fish remains from CA-SBA-2057, a small single component Early Holocene shell midden located on the western Santa Barbara Coast (Figure 1). Because the site was sealed under alluvium shortly after abandonment and never reoccupied, stratigraphic mixing has only minimally affected the assemblage. Investigations at SBA-2057 recovered over 3000 relatively well preserved teleost and elasmobranch fish elements, along with other vertebrate and shellfish remains. When compared to data from other early mainland and island sites from the Santa Barbara Channel, the fish remains from SBA-2057 provide valuable data on the fishing activi- ties and capabilities of early maritime peoples of the Pacific Coast. Erlandson (1994) presented dietary reconstructions, analysis of shellfish remains, and a preliminary analysis of vertebrate remains from two small midden samples from SBA-2057. We expand on these data by present- ing a detailed analysis of a larger sample of teleost and elasmobranch fish remains from the site, including previously unanalysed faunal data from a test unit excavated in 1989. We present data on the dietary significance of various fish taxa, the technology used in fishing, the seasons during which fishing took place, and the relationship of fishing activities to other sub- sistence efforts. Finally, we discuss the broader impli- cations of the SBA-2057 assemblage for understanding the development of fishing along the Pacific Coast of North America. 621 0305–4403/00/070621+13 $35.00/0  2000 Academic Press