Archaeology of the Americas

Study of the archaeology of North, Central and South America and the Caribbean

Burnt Hill Stone Circle, Heath, Massachusetts, USA

The archaeology of the Americas is the study of the archaeology of North America (Mesoamerica included), Central America, South America and the Caribbean. This includes the study of pre-historic/Pre-Columbian and historic indigenous American peoples, as well as historical archaeology of more recent eras.

Contents

• 
  1 Periodization
  


• 
  2 Major regions
  
  
  
  • 
    2.1 North America
    
  
  
  • 
    2.2 Mesoamerica
    
  
  
  • 
    2.3 South America
    
  
  
  
  


• 
  3 Archaeogenetics
  


• 
  4 See also
  


• 
  5 Further reading
  

Periodization

The Pre-Columbian era is the term generally used to encompass all period subdivisions in the history of the Americas spanning the time from the original settlement of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic up until to the European colonization of the Americas during the early modern period. While technically referring to the era before the voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492 to 1504, in practice the term usually includes the history of American indigenous cultures until they were conquered or significantly influenced by Europeans, even if this happened decades or even centuries after Columbus' initial landing.

The pre-Columbian archaeological record in the Americas is conventionally divided into five large phases according to an enduring system established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips's 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology.^[1] This differs from old world prehistory where the three-age system, with the Stone Age divided into Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, and, Chalcolithic, followed by the Bronze Age and Iron Age, remain in general use.

Folsom projectile point.
National Park Service, c.1961

Numerous regional and sub-regional divisions have since been defined to distinguish various cultures through time and space, as later archaeologists recognized that these generalised stages did not adequately correspond to the cultural variation that existed in different locations in the Americas.^[1]

• Lithic stage

Defined by the ostensible prevalence of big-game hunting. In most places, this can be dated to before 8000 BCE, starting most probably around 16,500 BCE (see Paleo-Indians). Examples include the Clovis culture and Folsom tradition groups.

• The Archaic stage
  

Defined by the increasingly intensive gathering of wild resources with the decline of the big-game hunting lifestyle. Typically, Archaic cultures can be dated from 8000 to 1000 BCE. Examples include the Archaic Southwest, the Arctic small tool tradition, the Poverty Point culture, and the Chan-Chan culture in southern Chile.

• The Formative stage
  

Defined as "village agriculture" based. Most of these can be dated from 1000 BCE to 500 CE. Examples include the Dorset culture, Zapotec civilization, Mimbres culture, Olmec, Woodland, and Mississippian cultures.

• The Classic stage
  

Defined as "early civilizations", and typically dating from 500 to 1200 CE. Willey and Phillips considered only cultures from Mesoamerica and Peru to have achieved this level of complexity. Examples include the early Maya and the Toltec.

• The Post-Classic stage
  

Defined as "later prehispanic civilizations" and typically dated from 1200 CE until the advent of European colonisation. The late Maya and the Aztec cultures were Post-Classic.

Today, for Meso- and Andean South America, the later periods are more often classified using the "Horizon" terminology, with "Early Horizon" typically broadly equating to the Late Formative stage. "Horizons" are periods of cultural stability and political unity, with "Intermediate periods" covering the politically fragmented transition between them. In the Andes, there are three Horizon periods, with two Intermediate periods between them. The Horizons, and their dominant cultures are: Early Horizon, Chavin; Middle Horizon, Tiwanaku and Wari culture; Late Horizon, Inca.^[2]

Major regions

North America

Further information: List of archaeological periods (North America)

Since 1990, in the United States, physical anthropology and archaeological investigations based on the study of human remains are complicated by the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, (NAGPRA), which provides for the bodies of Native Americans and associated grave goods to be turned over to the recognized tribal body most legally affiliated with the remains. In some cases, notably, that of Kennewick Man, these laws have been subject to close judicial scrutiny and great intellectual conflict.^[3]

Exact location of Mesoamerica

Mesoamerica

Further information: List of archaeological periods (Mesoamerica)

Mesoamerica is a region and cultural area in the Americas, extending approximately from central Mexico to Honduras and Nicaragua, within which a number of pre-Columbian societies flourished before the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries.^[4][5] Prehistoric groups in this area are characterized by agricultural villages and large ceremonial and politico-religious capitals^[6] This culture area included some of the most complex and advanced cultures of the Americas, including the Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Maya, and the Aztec.

South America

Further information: Cultural periods of Peru

Archaeogenetics

A genetic tree of 18 world human groups by a neighbour-joining autosomal relationships.

Main article: Genetic history of indigenous peoples of the Americas

See also: Y-DNA haplogroups in Indigenous peoples of the Americas

Molecular genetics study suggests that surviving Amerindian populations derived from a theoretical single founding population, possibly from only 50 to 70 genetic contributors^[7] Preliminary research, restricted to only 9 genomic regions (or loci) have shown a genetic link between original Americas and Asia populations. The study does not address the question of separate migrations for these groups, and excludes other DNA data-sets.^[8]

The American Journal of Human Genetics released an article in 2007 stating "Here we show, by using 86 complete mitochondrial genomes, that all Indigenous American haplogroups, including Haplogroup X (mtDNA), were part of a single founding population."^[9] Amerindian groups in the Bering Strait region exhibit perhaps the strongest DNA or mitochondrial DNA relations to Siberian peoples. The genetic diversity of Amerindian indigenous groups increase with distance from the assumed entry point into the Americas.^[10][11] Certain genetic diversity patterns from West to East suggest at least some coastal migration events.^[12] Geneticists have variously estimated that peoples of Asia and the Americas were part of the same population from 42,000 to 21,000 years ago.^[13]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Archaeology of the Americas.

Borax Lake Site Calico Early Man Site Cueva de las Manos Cultural periods of Peru History of the Americas

Indigenous peoples of the Americas La Jolla Complex List of pre-Columbian civilizations List of Mesoamerican pyramids Luzia Woman

Maya Research Program Mesoamerican chronology Mummy Cave Pecos Classification Post Pattern

Pre-Columbian South America Prehistoric Southwestern cultural divisions San Dieguito Complex San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán South American Indigenous peoples

Further reading

1. 
   ^ ^ab "Method and Theory in American Archaeology" (Digitised online by Questia Media). Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips. University of Chicago. 1958. Retrieved 2009-11-20..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
   


2. 
   ^ Essential Humanities. "History of Precolonial Meso/South America." Accessed 9 May, 2017. [1].
   


3. 
   ^ Bones, Discovering the First Americans Elaine Dewar, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2002,
   ISBN 0-7867-0979-0
   


4. 
   ^ "Meso-America." Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2nd ed. (rev.) 2002. (
   ISBN 0-19-860652-4) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 906.
   


5. 
   ^ (2000): Atlas del México Prehispánico. Revista Arqueología mexicana. Número especial 5. Julio de 2000. Raíces/ Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. México.
   


6. 
   ^ http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/hohokam/Glossary.htm The University of Arizona
   


7. 
   ^ Hey, J (2005). "On the Number of New World Founders: A Population Genetic Portrait of the Peopling of the Americas". PLoS Biology. PubMed Central (PMC) is the U.S. National Institutes of Health. 3 (6): e193. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0030193. PMC 1131883. PMID 15898833.
   


8. 
   ^ "Nomenclature for Incompletely Specified Bases in Nucleic Acid Sequences". NC-IUB. 1984. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
   


9. 
   ^ "First Americans". Southern Methodist University-David J. Meltzer, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
   


10. 
    ^ "The peopling of the Americas: Genetic ancestry influences health". Scientific American. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
    


11. 
    ^ "First Americans Endured 20,000-Year Layover - Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News". Archived from the original on 2012-03-13. Retrieved 2009-11-18
    


12. 
    ^ "Genetic Variation and Population Structure in Native Americans". PLoS Genetics. 2007. p. 3(11). Retrieved 2009-11-18.
    


13. 
    ^ Fagundes, Nelson J.R.; Ricardo Kanitz; Roberta Eckert; Ana C.S. Valls; Mauricio R. Bogo; Francisco M. Salzano; David Glenn Smith; Wilson A. Silva; Marco A. Zago; Andrea K. Ribeiro-dos-Santos; Sidney E.B. Santos; Maria Luiza Petzl-Erler; Sandro L.Bonatto (2008). "Mitochondrial Population Genomics Supports a Single Pre-Clovis Origin with a Coastal Route for the Peopling of the Americas" (pdf). American Journal of Human Genetics. 82 (3): 583–592. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2007.11.013. PMC 2427228. PMID 18313026. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
    

v t e Indigenous peoples of the Americas
Pre-history	Paleo-Indians Pre-Columbian era Classification Archaeology Genetics
Mythology/Religion	Mythologies of the indigenous peoples of the Americas‎ List of deities Native American religion Mesoamerican mythology Mesoamerican religion
European colonization	European colonization Population history Columbian exchange
Modern groups by country	North America Canada Costa Rica Dominica El Salvador Greenland Jamaica Mexico Panama Trinidad and Tobago United States South America Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela
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v t e 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 Chalcatzingo 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	Andean civilizations South American Indigenous people El Abra Cañaris Chachapoya Chancay Chavín Chimú Chinchorro Cultural periods of Peru Hydraulic culture of mounds (Bolivia) Las Vegas Lima La Tolita (Tumaco) Manteño-Guancavilca Mapuche Moche Mollo Nariño Nazca Norte Chico Quimbaya San Agustín Shuar Sican Taíno Tairona Tiwanaku Tierradentro Valdivia Wankarani Wari Zenú
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v t e Pre-Columbian North America
.mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal} Periods Lithic Archaic Formative Classic Post-Classic
Archaeological cultures	Adena Alachua Ancient Beringian Ancient Pueblo (Anasazi) Baytown Belle Glade Buttermilk Creek Complex Caborn-Welborn Calf Creek Caloosahatchee Clovis Coles Creek Comondú Deptford Folsom Fort Ancient Fort Walton Fremont Glacial Kame Glades Hohokam Hopewell List of Hopewell sites La Jolla Las Palmas 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 Anzick Clovis burial Bandelier National Monument Blue Spring Shelter The Bluff Point Stoneworks Brewster Cahokia Candelaria Cave Casa Grande Chaco Canyon Coso Rock Art District Crystal River Archaeological State Park Cuarenta Casas Cueva de la Olla Eaker El Fin del Mundo El Vallecito Effigy Mounds National Monument Etowah Indian Mounds Eva Folsom Site Fort Ancient Fort Center Fort Juelson Four Mounds Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument Glenwood Grimes Point Holly Bluff Site Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Horr's Island archaeological site Huápoca Key Marco Kimball Village Kincaid Mounds Kolomoki Mounds Lake Jackson Mounds L'Anse aux Meadows Marksville Marmes Rockshelter Meadowcroft Rockshelter Mesa Verde Moaning Cavern Moorehead Circle Morrison Mounds Moundville Mummy Cave Nodena Site Ocmulgee National Monument Old Stone Fort Orwell Site Paquime Parkin Park Pinson Mounds Portsmouth Earthworks Poverty Point Pueblo Bonito Recapture Canyon Rock Eagle Rock Hawk Rosenstock Village Site Russell Cave National Monument Salmon Ruins Serpent Mound Sierra de San Francisco Spiro Mounds SunWatch Taos Pueblo Toltec Mounds Town Creek Indian Mound Turkey River Mounds Upward Sun River site Velda Mound West Oak Forest Earthlodge Winterville Wupatki National Monument
Human remains	Anzick-1 Arlington Springs Man Buhl Woman Kennewick Man La Brea Woman Leanderthal Lady Minnesota Woman Spirit Cave mummy
Miscellaneous	Aridoamerica Black drink Ceremonial pipe Chunkey Clovis point Container Revolution Eastern Agricultural Complex Eden point Effigy mound Falcon dancer Folsom point Green Corn Ceremony Horned Serpent Kiva Medicine wheel Metallurgy Mi'kmaq hieroglyphic writing Mound Builders N.A.G.P.R.A. Norse colonization of North America Oasisamerica Piasa Southeastern Ceremonial Complex Stickball Three Sisters agriculture Thunderbird Underwater panther Water glyphs
Related Genetic history Portal of Indigenous peoples of North America Pre-Columbian era

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