Edward
Malin (1986) has proposed a theory
of totem pole development, which describes
totem poles as progressing from house
posts, funerary containers, and memorial
markers into symbols of clan and family
wealth and prestige. He argues that
the center of pole construction was
centered around the Haida people of
the Queen Charlotte Islands, from
whence it spread outward to the Tsimshian
and Tlingit and then down the coast
to the tribes of British Columbia
and northern Washington. The regional
stylistic differences between poles
would then be due not to a change
in style over time, but instead to
application of existing regional artistic
styles to a new medium. Totem poles
in front of houses in Alert Bay, British
Columbia in the 1900s.
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