Before turning to a systematic description of the archaeological sites of the Columbia-Fraser region, it will be well to review briefly the main sources of information. It may then be possible to bring together various of the sites and, with considerable tentativeness to be sure, associate them according to the cultural phases they represent. Some framework for the prehistory of the region may thus be obtained.
Judge Wickersham's early data for western Washington led him to believe that it was a poor region “for the development of the Stone Age,” and that the Indian “made his implements of bone, shell, or wood, and these soon decayed.” He goes on, however, to mention mauls, adz blades, clubs, and pipes of polished stone, in addition to chipped points among which “ … local forms are rare, but so distinct in character from others, which are so clearly traced to eastern Washington, as to admit of but little doubt as to their local origin.” He apparently thought the archaeological materials were closely related to the objects used by living Indians. Ties between the peoples east and west of the Cascades were obvious on the ethnological level and Wickersham was, consequently, not surprised to find arrow points on the Sound which were reminiscent of the eastern section of the state.