As you travel along the scenic coasts of Vashon taking in the beauty of the tall pines and rocky beaches, you may have notice strange areas full of white shells. Well, these phenomenon are not natural. In fact, they are quite the opposite. They are actually referred to as Shell Middens. A Midden is a fancy name for an old dump. For the Native American tribes that lived on Vashon some 200 years ago, these were places to drop shells, human waste, animal bones, and other unused materials. Shell Middens are crucial to understanding the diets and lifestyles of early Americans. Unfortunately, Middens are becoming less and less common due to the erosion of the land that they are on. Thus, archaeologists are eager to find out all that they can from these Middens on Vashon and throughout the Puget Sound before they completely disappear. So, as you paddle around be sure to look out for these strips of shells and imagine what life may have been like when they were being created.

For a detailed look at the middens on Vashon you can turn to Laura S. Phillips & Julie K. Stein’s 2003 book Vashon ISland Archaeology: A View from Burton Acres Shell Midden (Burke’s Museum of Natural History and Culture Report, No. 8). Which can be found at your local King County Library.