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. These divisions have been replaced in most of North America by more local classifications with a more elaborate time breakdown.
- 1. The Paleo-Indians stage and/or Lithic stage
- 2. The Archaic stage
- 3. Post-archaic stage - At this point the North America classifications system differs from the rest of the Americas.
For more detail on the five major stages, which are still in use in Mesoamerican archaeology, see Mesoamerican chronology and Archaeology of the Americas.
Read more about this topic: List Of Archaeological Periods (North America)
Famous quotes containing the word stage:
“Remember that as a teenager you are at the last stage in your life when you will be happy to hear that the phone is for you.”
—Fran Lebowitz (b. 1951)