List of archaeological periods (North America)

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.

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, only three of which applied to North America.^[1] 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.^[2]

1. The Paleo-Indians stage and/or Lithic stage

2. The Archaic stage

3. 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

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Paleo Indians (Lithic stage) (18,000 BC - 8000 BC)		Clovis culture		c. 13,500 BC - 11,000 BC
		Western Fluted Point Tradition		c. 11,200 BC - 9000 BC, California
		Post Pattern		c. 11,000 BC - 7000 BC, NW California
		Folsom tradition		c. 9000 BC - 8000 BC
		Dalton Tradition		c. 8500 BC - 7900 BC
Archaic period, (Archaic stage) (8000 BC - 1000 BC)	by Time Period	Early Archaic 8000 BC - 6000 BC	Plano cultures
			Paleo-Arctic Tradition	8000 BC - 5000 BC
			Maritime Archaic
			Red Paint People
		Middle Archaic 6000 BC - 3000 BC	Chihuahua tradition	c. 6000 BC - c. 250 AD
			Watson Brake and Lower Mississippi Valley sites	c. 3500 BC - 2800 BC
		Late Archaic 3000 BCE - 1000 BC	Arctic Small Tool tradition	2500 BC - 800 BC
			Aleutian tradition	2500 BC - 1800 BC
			Poverty Point culture	2200 BC - 700 BC
	by Location	Great Basin	Desert Archaic
			Middle Archaic
			Late Archaic
		Great Lakes	Old Copper Complex	c. 4000 BC - c. 1000 BC
			Red Ochre people	c. 1000 BC - 100 BC
			Glacial Kame Culture	c. 8000 BC - 1000 BC
		Mesoamerica	Mexican Archaic
		Southwest: Southwestern Archaic Traditions	Archaic – Early Basketmaker Era	c. 7000 BC - c. 1500 BC
			San Dieguito-Pinto tradition	c. 6500 BC - c. 200 AD
			Chihuahua (Southeastern) Tradition	c. 6000 BC - c. 250 AD
			Oshara (Northern) Tradition	c. 5500 BC - c. 600 AD
			Cochise Tradition	5000 BC - 200 BC
		California	Millingstone Horizon (or Encinitas Tradition)	c. 5500 BC - 1500 BC
			Intermediate Horizon (or Campbell Tradition)	c. 1500 BC - 1000 AD
		Southeast	Elliott's Point complex	2000 BC - 700 BC
			Mount Royal culture	5000 BC - 2000 BC
			Norwood culture	2000 BC - 500 BC
			Orange culture	2000 BC - 500 BC
			Poverty Point culture	2200 BC - 700 BC
			Stallings Island (St. Simons) culture	2500 BC - 1000 BC
			Thoms Creek culture	2500 BC - 1000 BC
Post-archaic period, (incorporating Formative, Classic and post-Classic stages) (1000 BC - present)	in North	Norton tradition	Choris Stage	c. 1000 BC - 500 BC
			Norton	500 BC - 800 AD
			Ipiutak Stage	1 AD - 800 AD
		Dorset culture		500 BC - 1500 AD
		Thule people		1000 AD - 1600 AD
	in Southwest and by Pecos Classification	Early Basketmaker II Era		1200 BC - 50 AD
		Late Basketmaker II Era		50 AD - 500 AD
		Basketmaker III Era		500 AD - 750 AD
		Pueblo I Era		750 AD - 900 AD
		Pueblo II Era		900 AD - 1150 AD
		Pueblo III Era		1150 AD - 1350 AD
		Pueblo IV Era		1350 AD - 1600 AD
		Pueblo V Era		1600 AD - present
	in Southwest and by peoples	Ancient Pueblo Peoples (Anasazi)		1 AD - 1300 AD
		Hohokam		200 AD - 1450 AD
		Fremont		400 AD - 1350 AD
		Patayan		700 AD - 1550 AD
		Mogollon		700 AD - 1400 AD
	in East and by peoples	Early Woodland Period 1000 BCE - 1 CE	Adena culture	1000 BC - 100 BC
			Deptford culture - Atlantic region	800 BC - 700 AD
			Deptford culture - Gulf region	500 BC - 200 AD
		Middle Woodland Period 1 - 500	Hopewell culture	200 BC - 400 AD
			Havana Hopewell culture (a Hopewellian culture)	200 BC to 400 AD
			Kansas City Hopewell (a Hopewellian culture)	100 BC – 700 AD
			Swift Creek culture (a Hopewellian culture)	100–500 AD
			Santa Rosa-Swift Creek culture (a Hopewellian culture)	100–300 AD
			Marksville culture (a Hopewellian culture)	1 - 400 CE
			Fourche Maline culture	300 BC to 800 AD
			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 [3]		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	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	0-200 CE	Point Lake/ Grand Gulf
Tchefuncte culture	Tuscola	400 BCE-0 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

Notes

1. Lower Mississippi, Lower Yazoo, and Tensas/Natchez table taken from "Emerging Patterns of Plum Bayou Culture:Preliminary Investigations of the Toltec Mounds Research Project", by Martha Ann Rolingson, 1982, Pg-66.^[4]
2. Cahokia phases and dates taken from "Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians", by Pauketat, Timothy R., 2004, Pp-6.^[5]
3. Ohio and Mississippi River Confluence Phases and dates taken from "Kentucky Archaeology", edited by R. Barry Lewis, 1996, Pg - 16.^[6]

References

1. Gordon R. Willey and Philip Phillips (1957). Method and Theory in American Archaeology. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-89888-9.
2. Gibbon, Guy E; Ames, Kenneth M (1998). Archaeology of prehistoric native America: an encyclopedia. Routledge. pp. 638–639. ISBN 0-8153-0725-X.
3. Willey and Phillips, Op. cit., p. 167
4. Rolingson, Martha Ann (1982). Emerging Patterns of Plum Bayou Culture:Preliminary Investigations of the Toltec Mounds Research Project. Arkansas Archaeological Survey. p. 66. ISBN 1-56349-042-0.
5. Pauketat, Timothy R. (2004). Ancient Cahokia and the Mississippians. Cambridge University Press. p. 6. ISBN 0-521-52066-5.
6. Lewis, R. Barry (1996). Kentucky Archaeology. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1907-3.

Bibliography

• Milanich, Jerald T. (1995). Florida Indians and the Invasion from Europe. Gainesville, Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-1360-2.
• Milanich, Jerald T. (1990). "State of Florida Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. Florida Historical Contexts" (PDF). Florida Historical Contexts. Retrieved 2006-03-28.
• Milanich, Jerald T. & Claudine Payne (ed.) (September 27, 1993). "State of Florida Office of Cultural and Historical Programs. Historic Contexts (in full)" (DOC). Florida Historical Contexts. Retrieved 2006-03-27.
• Milanich, Jerald T. (1998) Florida's Indians from Ancient Times to the Present. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1599-5
• Milanich, Jerald T. (1994) Archaeology of Precolumbian Florida. University Press of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1273-2
• "National Park Service Southeast Archaeological Center - The Woodland Period (ca. 2000 B.C.- A.D. 1000)". Outline of Prehistory and History. Retrieved 2006-04-03.
• Philip Phillips (1970). Archaeological Survey In The Lower Yazoo Basin, Mississippi, 1949-1955(Part One). Published by the Peabody Museum, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 77-80028.