List of archaeological periods (North America) facts for kids
North American archaeological periods divides the history of pre-Columbian North America into a number of named successive eras or periods, from the earliest-known human habitation through to the early Colonial period which followed the European colonization of the Americas.
Contents
Stage classification
One of the most enduring classifications of archaeological periods and 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, only three of which applied to North America. The use of these divisions has diminished in most of North America due to the development of local classifications with more elaborate breakdowns of times.
- 1. The Paleo-Indians stage and/or Lithic stage
- 2. The Archaic stage
- 3. Formative stage or Post-archaic stage - At this point the North American classifications system differs from the rest of the Americas.
For more details on the five major stages, still used in Mesoamerican archaeology, see Mesoamerican chronology and Archaeology of the Americas.
Table of archaeological periods North America
| Paleo Indians (Lithic stage) (18,000 – 8000 BCE) |
Clovis culture | c. 11,500 – 10,800 BCE | ||
| Western Fluted Point tradition | c. 11,200 – 9000 BCE, California | |||
| Post Pattern | c. 11,000 – 7000 BCE, NW California | |||
| Folsom tradition | c. 10800 – 10200 BCE | |||
| Dalton tradition | c. 8500 – 7900 BCE | |||
| Archaic period, (Archaic stage) (8000 – 1000 BCE) |
by Time Period | Early Archaic 8000 – 6000 BCE |
Plano cultures | 9,000 – 5,000 BCE |
| Paleo-Arctic tradition | 8000 – 5000 BCE | |||
| Maritime Archaic | ||||
| Red Paint People | 3000 – 1000 BCE | |||
| Middle Archaic 6000 – 3000 BCE |
Chihuahua tradition | c. 6000 BCE – c. 250 CE | ||
| Watson Brake and Lower Mississippi Valley sites | c. 3500 – 2800 BCE | |||
| Late Archaic 3000 – 1000 BCE |
Arctic Small Tool tradition | 2500 – 800 BCE | ||
| Aleutian tradition | 2500 – 1800 BCE | |||
| Poverty Point culture | 2200 – 700 BCE | |||
| by Location | Great Basin | Desert Archaic | ||
| Middle Archaic | ||||
| Late Archaic | ||||
| Great Lakes | Old Copper complex | c. 4000 – c. 1000 BCE | ||
| Red Ochre people | c. 1000 – 100 BCE | |||
| Glacial Kame culture | c. 8000 – 1000 BCE | |||
| Great Plains | Plains Archaic | c. 9500 – 5500 BCE | ||
| Mesoamerica | Mexican Archaic | |||
| Southwest: Southwestern Archaic Traditions | Archaic – Early Basketmaker Era | c. 7000 – c. 1500 BCE | ||
| 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 – 200 BCE | |||
| California | Millingstone Horizon (or Encinitas tradition) | c. 5500 – 1500 BCE | ||
| Intermediate Horizon (or Campbell tradition) | c. 1500 BCE – 1000 CE | |||
| Southeast | Mount Taylor period | 5000 – 2000 BCE | ||
| Stallings Island (St. Simons) culture | 2500 – 1000 BCE | |||
| Thoms Creek culture | 2500 – 1000 BCE | |||
| Poverty Point culture | 2200 – 700 BCE | |||
| Elliott's Point complex | 2000 – 700 BCE | |||
| Norwood culture | 2000 – 500 BCE | |||
| Orange culture | 2000 – 500 BCE | |||
| Post-archaic period, (incorporating Formative, Classic and post-Classic stages) (1000 BCE – present) |
in North | Norton tradition | Choris Stage | c. 1000 – 500 BCE |
| Norton | 500 BCE – 800 CE | |||
| Ipiutak Stage | 1 CE – 800 CE | |||
| Dorset culture | 500 BCE – 1500 CE | |||
| Thule people | 200 BCE – 1600 CE | |||
| on Great Plains | Plains Woodland | c. 500 BCE – 1000 CE | ||
| Plains Village | c. 1000 – 1780 CE | |||
| in Southwest and by Pecos Classification |
Early Basketmaker II Era | 1500 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 |
Ancestral Puebloans (formerly 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 – 100 BCE | |
| Deptford culture – Atlantic region | 800 BCE – 700 CE | |||
| Deptford culture – Gulf region | 500 BCE – 200 CE | |||
| Middle Woodland Period 1 – 500 |
Point Peninsula complex (a Hopewellian culture) | 600 BCE – 700 CE | ||
| Laurel complex (a Hopewellian culture) | 300 BCE – 1100 CE | |||
| Hopewell culture | 200 BCE – 500 CE | |||
| Havana Hopewell culture (a Hopewellian culture) | 200 BCE to 400 CE | |||
| Goodall focus (a Hopewellian culture) | 200 BCE to 500 CE | |||
| Saugeen complex (a Hopewellian culture) | 200 BCE to 500 CE | |||
| Kansas City Hopewell (a Hopewellian culture) | 100 BCE – 700 CE | |||
| Armstrong culture (a Hopewellian culture) | 1 – 500 CE | |||
| Swift Creek culture (a Hopewellian culture) | 100 – 800 CE | |||
| Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture (a Hopewellian culture) | 100 – 300 CE | |||
| Marksville culture (a Hopewellian culture) | 100 BCE – 400 CE | |||
| Fourche Maline culture | 300 BCE to 800 CE | |||
| Copena culture (a Hopewellian culture) | 1 – 500 CE | |||
| Late Woodland Period 500–1000 |
Baytown culture | 300–700 CE | ||
| Plum Bayou culture | 400–900 CE | |||
| Troyville culture | 300–700 CE | |||
| Coles Creek culture | 700 – 1100 CE | |||
| Mississippian culture 900–1500 (ending with European contact) |
Early Mississippian culture | 1000 – 1200 CE | ||
| Middle Mississippian culture | 1200 – 1400 CE | |||
| Late Mississippian culture | 1400 – 1500 CE (or European contact) |
|||
| Fort Ancient (a non-Mississippian culture) | 1000 – 1550 CE | |||
| Oneota | 900 – 1650 CE | |||
| in Florida and adjacent parts of Alabama and Georgia, by culture | Belle Glade culture | 1050 BCE – European contact | ||
| Glades culture | 550 BCE – European contact | |||
| Manasota culture | 550 BCE – 800 CE | |||
| St. Johns culture | 550 BCE – European contact | |||
| Caloosahatchee culture | 500 BCE – European contact | |||
| Weeden Island culture 100–1000 CE |
Weeden Island I, including | 100–750 CE | ||
| – Cades Pond culture | 100–600 CE | |||
| – Kolomaki culture | 350–750 CE | |||
| – McKeithen Weeden Island culture | 200–750 CE | |||
| Weeden Island II, including | 750–1000 CE | |||
| – Wakulla culture | 750–1000 CE | |||
| Alachua culture | 600 – European contact | |||
| Suwannee Valley culture | 750 – European contact | |||
| Safety Harbor culture | 800 – European contact | |||
| Fort Walton culture a Mississippian culture | 1000 – European contact | |||
| Pensacola culture | 1250 – European contact | |||
Culture, phase, and chronological table for the Mississippi Valley
| Lower Mississippi periods | Lower Yazoo phases | Lower Yazoo dates |
Tensas/Natchez phases | Cahokia Phases | Cahokia dates | Ohio/Miss. River Confluence phases |
Ohio/Miss. dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Historic | Russell (Tunica) | 1650–1750 CE | Tensas / Natchez | Vacant Quarter |
1350 CE - European Contact |
Jackson | 1500-1650 CE |
| Plaquemine Mississippian culture Late Plaquemine/Mississippian Middle Plaquemine/Mississippian Early Plaquemine/Mississippian |
Wasp Lake | 1400-1650 CE | Transylvania / Emerald | ||||
| Lake George | 1300-1400 CE | Fitzhugh / Foster | Sand Prairie | 1275-1350 CE | Medley Phase | 1300-1500 CE | |
| Winterville | 1200-1300 CE | Routh / Anna | Moorehead | 1200-1275 CE | Dorena | 1100-1300 CE | |
| Transitional Coles Creek | Crippen Point | 1050-1200 CE | Preston / Gordon | Lohmann Sterling |
1050-1200 CE | ||
| Coles Creek culture Late Coles Creek Middle Coles Creek Early Coles Creek |
Kings Crossing | 950-1050 CE | Balmoral | Terminal Late Woodland |
900–1050 CE | James Bayou | 900-1100 CE |
| Aden | 800-950 CE | Ballina | |||||
| Bayland | 600-800 CE | Sundown | Late Woodland |
400–900 CE | Cane Hills Berkley |
600–900 CE 400–600 CE |
|
| Baytown/Troyville Baytown 2 Baytown 1 |
Deasonville | 500-600 CE | Marsden | ||||
| Little Sunflower | 400-500 CE | Indian Bayou | |||||
| Marksville culture Late Marksville Early Marksville |
Issaquena | 200-400 CE | Issaquena | Middle Woodland |
200 BCE - 400 CE | La Plant Burkett |
100 BCE-400 CE 550-100 BCE |
| Anderson Landing |
1-200 CE | Point Lake/ Grand Gulf |
|||||
| Tchefuncte culture | Tuscola | 400 BCE-1 CE | Panther Lake | ||||
| Jaketown | Poverty Point | 700- 400 BCE | Frasier | Early Woodland | 700-200 BCE | O'Bryan Ridge | 700-550 BCE |
| - | 1000-700 BCE | - | Late Archaic | 1000 - 200 BCE |
See also
- Archaeogenetics
- Archaeological culture
- Archaeology of the Americas
- List of archaeological periods
- Genetic history of indigenous peoples of the Americas
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