"The Northwest Coast culture area, along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to the top of Northern California, has a mild climate and an abundance of natural
resources. In particular, the ocean and the region's rivers provided almost everything
its people needed salmon, especially, but also whales, sea otters, seals and fish
and shellfish of all kinds. As a result, unlike many other hunter-gatherers who
struggled to eke out a living and were forced to follow animal herds from place to
place, the Indians of the Pacific Northwest were secure enough to build permanent
villages that housed hundreds of people apiece."
What word or phrase could replace "As a result" in the last sentence without
changing
the sentence's meaning?