Islanders and Mainlanders: Prehistoric Context for the Southern California Bight

The mosaic of mountains, beaches, estuaries, rivers, grasslands, and islands that extends from Point Conception to San Diego Bay is known as the Southern California Bight. It is a region of ever-changing environments, a fact matched by its culture history and cultural diversity. How cultures evolved in the bight, and how archaeologists have studied them, is the story we tell here. In the telling, the authors reveal the fault lines of culture that have shaped the way peoples have conceived of the land and themselves.