Despiste a great many references in the historic and ethnographic records to the importance of fishing by natives of the northern Great Lakes, anthropologists and archaeologists have failed to appreciate the uniqueness and significance of the inland shore fishery. A review of the archaeological evidence for the evolution of the fishery from Late Archaic to historic time indicates that the fishery can provide an organizing concept for understanding the cultural evolution of the region. Further, this record provides a menas of examining the process of adaptation as it reflects a long series of technological and social adjustments to a specific set of environmental conditions over time.