period with copper from Alaska have been found. Such finds point to a far-reaching system of trade contacts, whose goods may have served to satisfy special representational needs, which are probably connected with the emergence of a class of nobility. The Skarnel Phase (350 BC to 250 AD) is notable for the disappearance of the microliths. Sites from this period include Esilao, Katz, Pipeline and Silverhope Creek. In the Emery Phase (250-1250 AD) pipes appeared, probably around 500 AD. However, tobacco was only smoked on the south coast, whereas in the north it was chewed. Northern cultures also grew tobacco in gardens. At the same time, hand spindles and other objects related to blanket-making appear. These blankets were probably made from the hair of dogs and mountain goat. The former were mainly kept on the Gulf Islands like sheep in Europe. The Esilao Phase (1250–1800 AD) is characterized by small projectile tips of certain types of fortifications. The huge mussel heaps provide numerous clues to the society behind them. They consist not only of shells, but also of ashes, rocks shattered by the heat of a fire, animal bones and refuse. From about 1500 AD a more food-storing society seems to have developed, depending primarily on salmon. At the lower Skeena River, in the Kitselas Canyon, several phases can be distinguished, including the Gitaus Phase from about 1300 and 600 BC. In Gitaus and at the Paul Mason Site there were summer fishing camps. The Skeena Phase (1600–1200 BC), which can only be verified in Gitaus, shows molded, single-edged and lance-shaped bifaces, a type of double-edged hand axe. Flint was of paramount importance. In the delta of the Fraser River the most important localities are St. Mungo, Glenrose, and Crescent Beach. Mussels were clearly important here, and fish (especially salmon and the starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus), a species of flatfish found on almost all coasts of the North Pacific. was likely more important than game or marine mammals However, game and seals were also important food sources. Marpole culture (400 BC to 400 AD) The Coast Salish of today can be traced back to the Marpole culture. It was already characterized by the same social differentiation, plank houses housing multiple families, salmon fishing and conservation, rich carvings of often monumental proportions, and complex ceremonies. Because of the paramount importance of salmon fishing, an immigration from the lower Fraser Valley or