List of archaeological periods (North America)
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Many archaeological periods, cultures, complexes, and peoples have been identified in North America.
[edit] Five Stage Classification
One of the most enduring classifications of archaeological periods & cultures was established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips' 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology. They divided the archaeological record in the Americas into 5 phases. These are:
- The Lithic stage
- The Archaic stage
- The Formative stage
- The Classic stage
- The Post-Classic stage
For more detail on these five major stages, which are still in use in Mesoamerican archaeology, see Mesoamerican chronology and Archaeology of the Americas. Also refer to the articles for each stage.
This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
| Paleo Indians (Lithic stage) (18000 BCE - 8000 BCE) |
Clovis culture | |||
| Western Fluted Point Tradition | c. 11200 BCE - 9000 BCE, California | |||
| Post Pattern | c. 11000 BCE - 7000 BCE, NW California | |||
| Folsom tradition | c. 9000 BCE - 8000 BCE | |||
| Dalton Tradition | c. 8500 BCE - 7900 BCE | |||
| Archaic period, (Archaic stage) (8000 BCE - 1000 BCE) |
by Time Period | Early Archaic 8000 BCE - 6000 BCE |
Plano cultures | |
| Paleo-Arctic Tradition | 8000 BCE - 5000 BCE | |||
| Maritime Archaic | ||||
| Red Paint People | ||||
| Middle Archaic 6000 BCE - 3000 BCE |
Chihuahua tradition | c. 6000 BCE - c. 250 CE | ||
| Late Archaic 3000 BCE - 1000 BCE |
Arctic Small Tool tradition | 2500 BCE - 800 BCE | ||
| Aleutian tradition | 2500 BCE - 1800 BCE | |||
| by location | Great Basin | Desert Archaic | ||
| Middle Archaic | ||||
| Late Archaic | ||||
| Mesoamerica | Mexican Archaic | |||
| Southwest: Southwestern Archaic Traditions | San Dieguito-Pinto tradition | c. 6500 BCE - c. 200 CE | ||
| Chihuahua (Southeastern) Tradition | c. 6000 BCE - c. 250 CE | |||
| Oshara (Northern) Tradition | c. 5500 BCE - c. 600 CE | |||
| Cochise Tradition | 5000 BCE - 200 BCE | |||
| California | Millingstone Horizon (or Encinitas Tradition) | c. 5500 BCE - 1500 BCE | ||
| Intermediate Horizon (or Campbell Tradition) | c. 1500 BCE - 1000 CE | |||
| Post-archaic period, (Post-archaic stage) (1000 BCE - Present) |
in North | Norton tradition | Choris Stage | c. 1000 BCE - 500 BCE |
| Norton | 500 BCE - 800 CE | |||
| Ipiutak Stage | 1 CE - 800 CE | |||
| Dorset culture | 500 BCE - 1500 CE | |||
| Thule people | 1000 CE - 1600 CE | |||
| in Southwest and by Pecos Classification |
Early Basketmaker II Era | 1200 BCE - 50 CE | ||
| Late Basketmaker II Era | 50 CE - 500 CE | |||
| Basketmaker III Era | 500 CE - 750 CE | |||
| Pueblo I Era | 750 CE - 900 CE | |||
| Pueblo II Era | 900 CE - 1150 CE | |||
| Pueblo III Era | 1150 CE - 1350 CE | |||
| Pueblo IV Era | 1350 CE - 1600 CE | |||
| Pueblo V Era | 1600 CE - Present | |||
| in Southwest and by peoples |
Ancient Pueblo Peoples (Anasazi) | 1 CE - 1300 CE | ||
| Hohokam | 200 CE - 1450 CE | |||
| Fremont | 400 CE - 1350 CE | |||
| Patayan | 700 CE - 1550 CE | |||
| Mogollon | 700 CE - 1400 CE | |||
| in East and by peoples |
Early Woodland Period 1000 BCE - 1 CE |
Adena culture | 1000 BCE - 100 BCE | |
| Deptford culture | 800 BCE - 200 CE | |||
| Middle Woodland Period 1 - 500 |
Hopewell culture | 200 BCE - 400 CE | ||
| Swift Creek culture A Hopewellian culture. | 100 - 500 | |||
| Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture A Hopewellian culture. | 100 - 300 | |||
| Marksville culture A Hopewellian culture. | 1 - 400 | |||
| Copena culture A Hopewellian culture. | 1 - 500 | |||
| Late Woodland Period 500 - 1000 |
Coles Creek culture | 700 - 1100 | ||
| Mississippian culture 900 - 1500 (ending with European contact) |
Early Mississippian culture | 1000 - 1200 | ||
| Middle Mississippian culture | 1200 - 1400 | |||
| Late Mississippian culture | 1400 - 1500 (or European contact) |
|||
| Fort Ancient A non-Mississippian culture. | 1000 - 1550 | |||
| in Florida, by culture | Weeden Island culture 200 - 900 |
Weeden Island Northwest culture | 300-900 | |
| Weeden Island North peninsular coast culture | 200-900 | |||
| McKeithen culture | 200 - 700 | |||
| Cades Pond culture | 200 - 700 | |||
| Fort Walton culture | 900 - European contact | |||
| Island Pond culture | 700 - European contact | |||
| Alachua culture | 700 - European contact | |||
| Manasota culture | 550 BCE - 800 CE | |||
| Safety Harbor culture | 800 - European contact | |||
| Caloosahatchee culture | 500 BCE - European contact | |||
| St. Johns culture | 550 BCE - European contact | |||
| Indian River culture | 550 BCE - European contact | |||
| Belle Glade culture | 1050 BCE - European contact | |||
| Glades culture | 550 BCE - European contact | |||
[edit] References
- Gordon R. Willey and Philip Phillips (1957). Method and Theory in American Archaeology. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-89888-1.
- Jerald T. Milanich (1995). Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe. Gainesville, Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1360-7.
- Milanich, Jerald T. (1990). State of Florida Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. Florida Historical Contexts (PDF). Florida Historical Contexts. Retrieved on 2006-03-28.
- Jerald T. Milanich & Claudine Payne (ed.) (September 1993). State of Florida Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. Historic Contexts (in full) (DOC). Florida Historical Contexts. Retrieved on 2006-03-27.
- National Park Service Southeast Archaeological Center - The Woodland Period (ca. 2000 B.C.- A.D. 1000) (HTM). Outline of Prehistory and History. Retrieved on 2006-04-03.
