History of the west coast of North America

The human history of the west coast of North AmericaThe term North America has a variety of meanings, including just the United States and Canada, those two countries plus Mexico, or all of the continent from Panama north; this article uses this most expansive definition. is believed to stretch back to the arrival of the earliest people over the Bering Strait, or alternately along the ice free coastal islands of British Columbia. This was followed by the development of significant pre-Columbian cultures and population densities and later arrival of the European explorers and colonization of the coast. The west coast of North America today is home to some of the largest and most important companies in the world,Ranked by 2007 market valuation, nearly 10% of the 200 largest publicly traded companies in the world are based on the west coast of North America: Microsoft, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Intel, Wells Fargo, Google, Amgen, Hewlett-Packard, Qualcomm, Oracle, Apple Computer, eBay, Walt Disney, Yahoo, Washington Mutual, and Occidental Petroleum. (See Top ranked publicly traded companies. Accessed 2008-02-01.) Of the 200 largest privately held companies in the United States (ranked by 2006 revenue), over 20% are based on the west coast of North America, including brand names Levi Strauss & Co. and E&J Gallo Winery, and global firms Bechtel and Parsons. (See Top ranked privately held companies. Accessed 2007-01-02.) Finally, of the nearly 800 billionaires in the world (as ranked by Forbes magazine in 2006) nearly 100 (or over 10%) live on the west coast of North America, including Bill Gates, listed as the wealthiest individual in the world. (See List of billionaires. Accessed 2007-01-02.) as well as being a center of world culture.

Geography As used in this article, the term "west coast of North America" means a contiguous region of that continent bordering the Pacific Ocean: all or parts of the U.S. states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California; all or parts of British Columbia and the Yukon in Canada; all or part of the Mexican states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sonora, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca and Chiapas; and the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The eastern islands of the Pacific Ocean off the west coast, such as the coastal islands of the Californias, are also important.

First people

The west coast of North America likely saw the first sustained arrival of people to the continent. Although there are other theories, most scientists believe that the first significant groups of people came from Asia, through today's Bering Strait area, then through modern Alaska, and from there spread throughout North America and to South America.

Although the cultures on the west coast of today's Canada and United States are not known to have developed substantial urban centers and sophisticated writing or scientific systems, it is likely that, before European contact, the population density was significantly higher than in the rest of the northern part of the continent. For example, it has been estimated that in 1492, one-third of all Native Americans in the United States were living in what is now California.Starr, Kevin. California: a history, New York, Modern Library (2005), p. 13

The Channel Islands of California provide the earliest evidence for human seafaring in the Americas. They are now known to have been settled by maritime Paleo-Indian peoples at least 13,000 years ago. The Arlington Springs Man was discovered in 1960 at Arlington Springs on Santa Rosa Island (California). The remains were dated to 13,000 years BP.

The Cedros Island off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, had a human presence already about 11,000 years ago. The earliest fishhooks in the Americas were found here, dating to that time. These ancient fisher folk were catching deepwater fish species, indicating that they were using boats.

These island peoples maintained trading connections with the mainland for thousands of years.Glassow, Michael A. (editor), Todd J. Braje, Julia G. Costello, Jon M. Erlandson, John R. Johnson, Don P. Morris, Jennifer E. Perry, and Torben C. Rick (2014). Technical report. Channel Islands National Park Archaeological Overview and Assessment.

The oldest dated human remains were found in the Los Angeles area. Partial remains of a skeleton referred to as Los Angeles Man were recovered from the ancient channel of the Los Angeles river in the Baldwin Hills area. The ‘Los Angeles Man’ appeared to be contemporaneous with the partially preserved remains of an Imperial mammoth. The remains were located some 370 meters apart;Moratto, M. 1984. California Archaeology. Florida: Academic Press, p.53 they revealed a similar fluorine content profile,Heizer and Cook 1952 and were recovered within the same geological unit.Technical report for power plant construction. CULTURAL RESOURCES. California Energy Commission, Sacramento, California, December 2000

It was years later that the ‘Los Angeles Man’ remains were finally dated, but by then the mammoth remains were not available for comparative study,Dillon, B. 1990. Archaeological Record Search and Impact Evaluation for the Los Angeles Wastewater Program Management (NOS-NCOS) Project, Los Angeles, California. Prepared for Dr. Janet Fahey, James M. Montgomery, Consulting Engineers, 250 N.Madison Ave., P.O. Box 7009, Pasadena, CA 91109-7009. p.6 and only the cranium of ‘Los Angeles Man’ remained available for dating. The UCLA radiocarbon laboratory indicated the sample age to be more than 23,600 old (UCLA sample #1430), but the sample, obtained from cranial bone collagen, was too small to produce a confident date.Chartkoff, J. and K. K. Chartkoff. 1984. The Archaeology of California. Stanford: Stanford University Press: pp.33-35Technical report for power plant construction. CULTURAL RESOURCES. California Energy Commission, Sacramento, California, December 2000

Along the middle reaches of Marsh Creek near the modern day city of Brentwood lies land that was once occupied by the Bay Miwok speaking peoples more specifically the Volvon tribelet. Radiocarbon dates at the burial site estimate that the individuals were interred around 5,000 to 3,000 BP. In the earliest periods of the Black Marsh occupation, individuals were buried in an extended position facing north if on the east side of the site and south if on the west side. Observations by researchers suggest that individuals were not interred based on their sex or age, leading some archaeologists to assume a more culturally significant reason.Jelmer W. Eerkens, Eric J. Bartelink, Karen S. Gardner & Randy S. Wiberg (2013) The Evolution of a Cemetery: Rapid Change in Burial Practices in a Middle Holocene Site in Central Alta California, California Archaeology, 5:1, 3-35, DOI: 10.1179/1947461X13Z.0000000005

Larger human settlements In the western half of Mesoamerica (that is, western portions of today's Mexico and northern Central America), some larger settlements appeared around 2000 BCE.See Matanchén Complex: New Radiocarbon Dates on Early Coastal Adaptation in West Mexico. Joseph B. Mountjoy, R. E. Taylor, and Lawrence H. Feldman. Science 17 March 1972: Vol. 175. no. 4027, pp. 1242–1243. Abstract: Samples of marine shell from archaeological context on the coast of Nayarit, Mexico, have given radiocarbon determinations of 1810 ± 80 B.C., 2000 ± 100 B.C., and 2100 ± 100 B.C. Even with maximum correction for upwelling these are the earliest dates for coastal occupation in West Mexico north of Acapulco, Guerrero. Analysis of the midden contents has provided new insights regarding early coastal adaptation. A succession of cultures started with the very early Capacha culture, which appeared on the Pacific coast of modern Mexico about 1450 BC and spread into the interior. The following cultures developed into "high civilizations" in Mesoamerica, with extensive urban areas, writing, astronomy and fine arts: Olmec (beginning about 1150 BC) Mixtec (beginning perhaps 1000 BC) Maya (settled villages along the Pacific coast appear from 1800 BC, and ceremonial architecture by approximately 1000 BC) and Aztec (from the 14th century AD)

Farther south, Panama was home to some of the earliest pottery-making, such as the Monagrillo culture dating to about 2500–1700 BC; this culture evolved into significant populations best known for spectacular burial sites (dating to c. 500–900 AD) and polychrome pottery of the Coclé style.

Each of these cultures rose, flourished, and was then conquered by a more militarily developed culture. While not all of these civilizations had large settlements along the coast of the Pacific Ocean, their influence extended to the Pacific coast.

Regional communications in ancient Mesoamerica—and especially along the west coast—have been the subject of considerable research. There is evidence of trade routes starting as far north as the Mexico Central Plateau, and going down to the Pacific coast. These trade routes and cultural contacts then went on as far as Central America. These networks operated along the west coast with various interruptions from pre-Olmec times and up to the Late Classical Period (600–900 CE).

European arrival (1513–1750) In 1513, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to reach the west coast of North America, on the Pacific coast of the Panama isthmus. From the point of view of European powers in the age of sailing ships, the west coast of North America was among the most distant places in the world. The arduous journey around Cape Horn at the tip of South America and then north meant nine to twelve months of dangerous sailing. These practical difficulties discouraged all but the Spanish Empire from making regular visits and establishing settlements and ports until the second half of the 18th century—some 200 years after Europeans first reached the east coast of North America.

Spanish explorers and conquistadors

Explorers flying the flag of Spain reached the New World beginning in 1492 with the discovery of the Americas by Christopher Columbus. Spanish expeditions colonized and explored vast areas in North and South America following the grants of the Pope (contained in the 1493 papal bull Inter caetera) and rights contained in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas and 1529 Treaty of Zaragoza. These formal acts gave Spain the exclusive rights to colonize the entire Western Hemisphere (excluding eastern Brazil), including all of the west coast of North America. The first European expedition to actually reach the west coast was led by the Spaniard Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who reached the Pacific coast of Panama in 1513. In an act of enduring historical importance, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean for the Spanish Crown, as well as all adjoining land and islands. This act gave Spain exclusive sovereignty and navigation rights over the entire west coast of North America.

The commonly held belief at the time was that the west coast of North America was in modest sailing distance of Asia to the west, or the two might actually physically connect. To the north was imagined a narrow Northwest Passage, known as the Strait of Anián, which some believed reached the Pacific Ocean at 42° north latitude (the latitude of today's border between Oregon and California) and connected to the Atlantic Ocean at the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Confirmation of the land connection, and discovery of this Strait of Anián, were key elements in Spain's efforts to establish direct trade routes with China and other countries in Asia. See Early knowledge of the Pacific Northwest.