Time of change: late pleistocene / early holocene landscape transformation and human presence in southwest coastal British Columbia, Canada

This thesis is designed to increase awareness of the value of late-glacial landforms in the study of early settlement patterns along southwest coastal British Columbia. The study of the interaction between local paleoenvironmental events, such as relative sealevel changes and paraglacial landscape modifications, is critical to an understanding of potential early site locations. A lack of systematic surveys, poor site visibility, deep alluvial burial, and site locations away from modern shorelines have been identified in this thesis as main reasons for the lack of evidence for late Pleistocene human occupational sites. Field research of raised landforms, such as paleo-deltas, provided data on the local paleoenvironmental history during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene. A comparison to other research projects along the Pacific Northwest might highlight some new ideas and techniques applicable for the study of late Pleistocene settlement along potentially early corridors of migration.