California archaeology has much to gain from expanding its intellectual horizons to include an awareness of Pacific Rim archaeology, if not some amount of specialization in research spanning two or more Pacific Rim nations. Many environmental similarities and parallel cultural developments throughout the Pacific Rim provide opportunities for comparative studies, which are an important foundation for development of cultural theory. Although there has been some interest in Pacific Rim research at least since the 1950s, opportunities have never been better than they are today.