History of Mesoamerica (Paleo-Indian)

In the History of Mesoamerica, the stage known as the Paleo-Indian period (or alternatively, the Lithic stage) is the era in the scheme of Mesoamerican chronology which begins with the very first indications of human habitation within the Mesoamerican region, and continues until the general onset of the development of agriculture and other proto-civilization traits. The conclusion of this stage may be assigned to approximately 9000 BP (there are differences in opinion between sources which recognize the classification), and the transition to the succeeding Archaic period is not a well-defined one.

Its starting-point is a matter for some contention, as is the more general question of when human habitation in the Americas was first achieved. While it is accepted by a significant number of researchers that the peopling of the Americas had occurred by c. 11,200 years ago, a number of claims have been made for evidence of human occupation which precede this, some as far back as c. 40,000 years. General and majority scientific consensus for these (much) earlier dates remains elusive, however, and evidence for these claims is yet to be fully accepted.

History

Migration

Further information: Settlement of the Americas

Model of migration to the New World

Scientific opinion regarding human antiquity in Mesoamerica has reflected larger trends in conceptualizing human antiquity in the western hemisphere in general. Within that foundational topic, the establishment of sites demonstrating human antiquity in Mesoamerica has centered on the association of remains and artifacts with geologic strata (context) and on the reliability of the dating of the remains and strata (methodologies).

At the beginning of the twentieth century, humans were believed to be very recent post-glacial immigrants to the western hemisphere. Although there was believed to have been anywhere from 20,000 to 60,000 years of post-glacial time in which such immigration could have occurred over the Bering land bridge, the antiquity of human presence in the western hemisphere was popularly fixed at about 5,000 BP ("before present", or 3000 BC).

Obsidian projectile point from Puerta Parada, Guatemala

William H. Holmes and Ales Hrdlicka led this school of thought. The Folsom and Clovis discoveries of the 1920s and 1930s revised the minimum time frame for the initial occupation of the New World. The Folsom lithics dated to 10,000 - 11,000 BP, and the Clovis lithics dated to 12,000 - 12,500 BP, allowing for an original immigration date of about 14,000 BP.

Lithic period

See also: Paleo-Indians and Paleo-Indians period (Canada)

In Mesoamerica, the period from about 9,000 BP back to the earliest occupations is referred to as the "Paleoindian period." Evidence of human occupation in Mesoamerica consistent with that 14,000 BP original occupation date has been presented, debated, and accepted. Fluted points have been found north of Mesoamerica in the states of Sonora and Durango as well as in central Mexico, with proof of a mammoth hunt being uncovered at Santa Isabel Iztapan. Pleistocene-age bone artifacts have been found at Los Reyes La Paz. Human presence during this period has been further documented by cranial finds at Peña, Xico, Tepexpan, Santa Maria Astahuacan, and San Vicente Chicoloapan. A variety of methods were used to determine the antiquity of the cranial remains, including chemical bone analysis (nitrogen and fluorine tests), geological analysis (stratigraphic, carbon-14, and volcanic ash composition tests), contextual association with faunal remains, and contextual association with lithic artifacts dated by obsidian hydration.

The 14,000 BP immigration date maximum, however, has been challenged. Claims have been made for human presence in the 20,000-30,000 BP timeframe at Pennsylvania's Meadowcroft Rock Shelter and in California's Yuha Desert as well as sites in South America, Central America, and Mesoamerica.

A bone artifact from Tequixquiac may come from a pre-projectile point horizon. Evidence from Tlapacoya suggests human occupation dating to 23,000 BP. Valsequillo has five sites that appear to date from at least 20,000 BP. Based upon increasing evidence for an earlier antiquity for human presence in the western hemisphere, in 1976 Irving Rouse and Richard MacNeish independently published proposals revising western hemisphere lithic stages, allowing for human occupation as early as 30,000 BP and leaving open the possibility of an even earlier initial arrival.

Post-Lithic period

Main articles: Mesoamerican chronology and List of archaeological periods (Mesoamerica)

References

External links

Paleo-Indian Period in Chickasaw History - Chickasaw.TV

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

Pre-history

Mythology/Religion

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North America	Dominica Greenland Canada United States Jamaica Mexico Central America El Salvador Costa Rica West Indies Panama

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Pre-Columbian civilizations and cultures
Americas	Paleo-Indians · Genetic history · Archaeology of the Americas · Indigenous peoples of the Americas
North America	North American pre-Columbian cultures – Caddoan Mississippian – Chichimeca – Hopewell tradition – Coles Creek – Fremont – Marksville – Mississippian – Mogollon – Plaquemine – Plum Bayou – Poverty Point – Troyville – Weeden Island
Mesoamerica	Mesoamerican pre-Columbian chronology – Capacha – Cholula – Coclé – Epi-Olmec – Huastec – Izapa – Mezcala – Mixtec – Olmec – Pipil – Quelepa – Shaft tomb tradition – Teuchitlan – Purépecha – Teotihuacan – Tlatilco – Tlaxcaltec – Toltec – Totonac – Veracruz – Xochipala – Zapotec
South America	South American Indigenous people – Pre-Columbian chronology – Cañaris – Chachapoya – Chancay – Chavín – Chimú – El Abra – Hydraulic culture of mounds (Bolivia) – Las Vegas – Lima – La Tolita (Tumaco) – Manteño-Guancavilca – Mapuche – Moche – Mollo – Muisca (Chibchas) – Nariño – Nazca – Norte Chico – Quimbaya – San Agustín – Shuar – Sican – Taíno – Tairona – Tiwanaku – Tierradentro – Valdivia – Wari
	Aztec	Maya civilization	Inca Empire – Andean civilizations
Language	Nahuatl	Mayan languages	Quechua
Writing	Aztec writing	Maya script	Quipu
Religion	Aztec religion	Maya religion	Inca religion
Mythology	Aztec mythology	Maya mythology	Inca mythology
Calendar	Aztec calendar	Maya calendar
Society	Aztec society	Maya society	Inca society
Infrastructure	Chinampas	Maya architecture	Inca architecture (road system) Incan agriculture
History	Aztec history		Inca history Neo-Inca State
People	Moctezuma I Moctezuma II Cuitláhuac Cuauhtémoc	K'inich Janaab' Pakal Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Jasaw Chan K'awiil I	Manco Cápac Pachacuti Atahualpa Manco Inca Yupanqui Túpac Amaru II
Conquest	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (Hernán Cortés)	Spanish conquest of the Maya Spanish conquest of Yucatán (Francisco de Montejo) Spanish conquest of Guatemala (Pedro de Alvarado)	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (Francisco Pizarro)
See also
Portal:Indigenous peoples of North America – Portal:Mesoamerica – Columbian Exchange – Mesoamerican writing systems – Native American cuisine – Native American pottery – Population history of indigenous peoples of the Americas – Pre‑Columbian art – Painting in the Americas before European colonization

Pre-Columbian North America

Periods Lithic Archaic Formative Classic Post-Classic

Archaeological cultures	Adena Alachua Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) Baytown Belle Glade Buttermilk Creek Complex Caborn-Welborn Calf Creek Caloosahatchee Clovis Coles Creek Deptford Folsom Fort Ancient Fort Walton Fremont Glacial Kame Glades Hohokam Hopewell List of Hopewell sites Leon-Jefferson Mississippian List of Mississippian sites Mogollon Monongahela Old Cordilleran Oneota Paleo-Arctic Paleo-Indians Patayan Plano Plaquemine Poverty Point Red Ocher Santa Rosa-Swift Creek St. Johns Steed-Kisker Tchefuncte Tocobaga Troyville

Archaeological sites	Angel Mounds Bandelier National Monument The Bluff Point Stoneworks Cahokia Casa Grande Chaco Canyon Coso Rock Art District Crystal River Archaeological State Park Eaker Effigy Mounds National Monument Etowah Indian Mounds Eva Folsom Site Fort Ancient Fort Center Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Holly Bluff Site Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Kincaid Mounds Kolomoki Mounds Marksville Meadowcroft Rockshelter Mesa Verde Moorehead Circle Moundville Mummy Cave Nodena Site Ocmulgee National Monument Old Stone Fort Parkin Park Pinson Mounds Portsmouth Earthworks Poverty Point Pueblo Bonito Recapture Canyon Rock Eagle Rock Hawk Russell Cave National Monument Salmon Ruins Serpent Mound Spiro Mounds SunWatch Taos Pueblo Toltec Mounds Town Creek Indian Mound Winterville Wupatki National Monument

Miscellaneous	Black drink Buhl Woman Ceremonial pipe Chunkey Clovis point Container Revolution Eastern Agricultural Complex Eden point Effigy mound Falcon dancer Folsom point Green Corn Ceremony Horned Serpent Kennewick Man Kiva Medicine wheel Metallurgy Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing Mound Builders N.A.G.P.R.A. Norse colonization of the Americas Piasa Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Stickball Three Sisters agriculture Thunderbird Underwater panther

Related Genetic history Portal of Indigenous peoples of North America Pre-Columbian era

History of the Americas

History	North America Mesoamerica Central America Caribbean Latin America South America Andean South America Genetics

Settlement	Indigenous peoples Indigenous population Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories Discovery Exploration European colonization Spanish colonization French colonization Portuguese colonization British colonization Columbian Exchange Decolonization

Societies	Paleo-Indians Pre-Columbian era Maya Incas Aztecs

Related	Maps Culture Geography Indigenous languages Epidemics Slavery

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Chronology	Archaeology of the Americas North America by period North American timelines Mesoamerica by period Mesoamerica timeline

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