Archaeology of the Americas

Stone circle at Burnt Hill, 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.

1 Archaeological time periods
2 Archaeogenetics
3 See also
4 Further reading

Archaeological time periods

Further information: Category:Archaeology of the Americas

One of the most enduring classifications of archaeological cultures was established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips' 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology.^[1] They divided the archaeological record in the Americas into five phases.^[1]

Folsom projectile point.
National Park Service, c.1961

Since these simplistic periods were defined, numerous regional and sub-regional divisions have been defined to distinguish various cultures through time and space. Later archaeologists recognized that these linear stages did not adequately correspond to the cultural variation that existed in different locations in the Americas. Although the Formative/Classic/Post-Classic distinction is still used in the archaeology of Mesoamerican chronology, the divisions have been replaced in most of North America by more local classifications with a more elaborated breakdown of periods of time.^[1] See: List of archaeological periods (North America)

The Lithic stage /or Paleo-Indian period

Defined initially as a big-game hunting adaptation. In most places, this can be dated to before 8000 BC. Examples include the Clovis culture and Folsom tradition groups.

The Archaic stage

Defined as cultures relying primarily on increasing intensive collecting of wild resources, after the decline of the big-game hunting lifestyle. Typically Archaic cultures can be dated from 8000 BC to 1000 BC. 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 BC to AD 500. Examples include the Dorset culture, Zapotec culture, Mimbres, Olmec, Woodland and Mississippian cultures.

The Classic stage

Defined as "early civilizations," and typically dating from AD 500 to 1200. 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 AD 1200 onward. The late Maya and the Aztec cultures were Post-Classic.

Archaeology in the United States

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.^[2]

Exact location of Mesoamerica

Archaeology in Mesoamerica

Further information: List of archaeological periods (Mesoamerica)

Mesoamerica or Meso-America (Spanish: Mesoamérica) is a region and culture 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.^[3]^[4] Prehistoric groups in this area are characterized by agricultural villages and large ceremonial and politico-religious capitals^[5] This culture area included some of the most complex and advanced cultures of the Americas, including the Olmec, Teotihuacan, the Maya, and the Aztec.^[6]

Humans entering the Americas

Main article: Settlement of the Americas

Settlement of the Americas address the central question of when and how humans reached the Americas. The earliest definite human peoples visible in the archaeological record throughout the Americas are today known as the Paleo-Indians.

Pre-Columbian era

Main article: Pre-Columbian era

The Pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the Americas, spanning the time from the original migration to the New World in the Upper Paleolithic up to the European colonization of the Americas during the Early Modern period.

While technically referring to the era before Christopher Columbus' voyages of 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.

Archaeogenetics

A map with five colored squares, depicting the genetic split between 18 different human groups of the world.

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

Main article: Genetic history of 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]

^ ^a ^b ^c "Method and Theory in American Archaeology" (Digitised online by Questia Media). Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips. University of Chicago. 1958. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6136197. Retrieved 2009-11-20.
^ Bones, Discovering the First Americans Elaine Dewar, Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2002, ISBN 0-7867-0979-0
^ "Meso-America." Oxford English Reference Dictionary, 2nd ed. (rev.) 2002. (ISBN 0-19-860652-4) Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press; p. 906.
^ (2000): Atlas del México Prehispánico. Revista Arqueología mexicana. Número especial 5. Julio de 2000. Raíces/ Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia. México.
^ http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/onlinebks/hohokam/Glossary.htm The University of Arizona
^ Forgotten Civilizations of Meso-America
^ 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. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1131883.
^ "Nomenclature for Incompletely Specified Bases in Nucleic Acid Sequences". NC-IUB. 1984. http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/misc/naseq.html. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
^ "First Americans". Southern Methodist University-David J. Meltzer, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. http://www.ucpress.edu/books/pages/10794.php. Retrieved 2009-11-17.
^ "The peopling of the Americas: Genetic ancestry influences health". Scientific American. http://www.physorg.com/news169474130.html. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
^ "First Americans Endured 20,000-Year Layover - Jennifer Viegas, Discovery News". http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/02/13/beringia-native-american-02.html. Retrieved 2009-11-18
^ "Genetic Variation and Population Structure in Native Americans". PLoS Genetics. 2007. p. 3(11). http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.0030185. Retrieved 2009-11-18.
^ 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, and 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. http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/Fagundes-et-al.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-19.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas

History

Paleo-Indians · Pre-Columbian era · Classification · Archaeology · Genetics

European
colonization

European colonization · Population history · Columbian Exchange

By country

North America	Greenland · Canada · United States · Jamaica · Mexico · Central America · El Salvador · West Indies · Panama

South America	Argentina · Bolivia · Brazil · Chile · Colombia · Ecuador · Paraguay · Peru · Venezuela · South American Indigenous people

Related topics

Indigenous American studies · Indigenous languages · Indigenous Movements · Indigenous art · Artists · Writers

Category · Portal

v · d · 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 – Cholula – Coclé – Epi-Olmec – Huastec – Izapa – Mixtec – Olmec – Pipil – Quelepa – Shaft tomb tradition – Teuchitlan – Tarascan – Teotihuacan – Tlatilco – Toltec – Totonac – Veracruz – Xochipala – Zapotec
South America	South American Indigenous people – pre-Columbian chronology – Cañaris – Chachapoya – Chancay – Chavín – Chimu – 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 Agustin – Shuar – Sican – Taino – Tairona – Tiwanaku – Tierradentro – Valdivia – Wari
	Aztec civilization	Maya civilization	Inca Empire – Inca civilization
Language	Nahuatl language	Mayan languages	Quechua
Writing	Aztec writing	Mayan writing	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
People	Moctezuma I Moctezuma II Cuitlahuac Cuauhtémoc	K'inich Janaab' Pakal Uaxaclajuun Ub'aah K'awiil Jasaw Chan K'awiil I	Manco Cápac Pachacutec Atahualpa Manco Inca
Conquest	Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire (Hernán Cortés)	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 – Columbian exchange – Mesoamerican writing systems – Native American cuisine – Native American pottery – Population history of American indigenous peoples – Pre-Columbian art – Painting in the Americas before Colonization

v · d · e Pre-Columbian North America

Archaeological cultures	North American pre-Columbian chronology – 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 – Glades – Glacial Kame – Hopewell (List of Hopewell sites) – Hohokam – Leon-Jefferson – Mississippian (List of Mississippian sites) – Mogollon – Monongahela – Old Cordilleran – Oneota – Paleo-Arctic – Paleo-Indians – Patayan – Plano – Plaquemine – Poverty Point – Prehistoric Southwest – 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 – Chaco Canyon – Casa Grande – Coso Rock Art District – 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 – Manitou Cliff Dwellings – 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 – Rock Eagle – Rock Hawk – Salmon Ruins – Serpent Mound – Spiro Mounds – SunWatch – Taos Pueblo – Toltec Mounds – Town Creek Indian Mound – Winterville

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

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

v · d · eArchaeology

History	Antiquarianism · Johann Joachim Winckelmann · Richard Hoare · Thomas Jefferson · Heinrich Schliemann · Arthur Evans · John Lloyd Stephens · William Henry Holmes · Augustus Pitt Rivers · Flinders Petrie · Mortimer Wheeler · Dorothy Garrod · Max Uhle · Alfred V. Kidder · George Bass

Methodology	Survey · Excavation · Post excavation

Sub-disciplines	Geographical: African · American · Australian · Biblical · Egyptian · Near Eastern · Mediaeval · Post-Mediaeval Thematic: Aerial · Archaeoastronomy · Archaeogenetics · Archaeometry · Archaeobotany · Battlefield · Bioarchaeology · Calceology · Computational · Experimental · Environmental · Feminist · Forensic · Gender · Indigenous · Landscape · Maritime · Osteology · Paleopathology · Phenomenology · Pseudoarchaeology · Underwater · Zooarchaeology

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Archaeology of the Americas
Timelines of the Americas
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Timelines of South American history

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