Paleo-Indian period

E42134

The Paleo-Indian period is the earliest known phase of human habitation in the Americas, characterized by nomadic hunter-gatherer groups who used distinctive stone tools to hunt now-extinct megafauna.

Aliases (2)

Statements (58)
Predicate Object
instanceOf archaeological period
cultural period
prehistoric period
alsoKnownAs Palaeo-Indian period
Paleoamerican period
Paleoindian period
associatedWith Anzick site
Beringian standstill hypothesis
Blackwater Draw site
Cactus Hill site
Clovis culture
Cumberland culture
Dalton culture
Folsom culture
Gault site
Late Pleistocene extinctions
Lindenmeier site
Meadowcroft Rockshelter
Monte Verde site
Plano cultures
peopling of the Americas
characterizedBy big-game hunting
exploitation of now-extinct megafauna
nomadic hunter-gatherer lifeways
small highly mobile bands
use of distinctive stone tools
climateContext Late Glacial Maximum retreat
end of the last Ice Age
economicActivity gathering of wild plants
hunting of giant bison
hunting of mammoth
hunting of mastodon
endTime approximately 8,000 BCE
early Holocene
follows initial human migration into the Americas
locatedIn Americas
Central America
North America
South America
mobilityPattern high residential mobility
seasonal migration
partOf prehistory of the Americas
populationType hunter-gatherers
precedes Archaic period in the Americas
researchField Quaternary studies
archaeology of the Americas
paleoanthropology
socialOrganization small kin-based bands
startTime Late Pleistocene
approximately 15,000 years ago
usesToolMaterial chert
flint
obsidian
usesToolType Clovis points
Folsom points
bifacial knives
fluted projectile points
scrapers

Referenced by (3)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
Pre-Columbian era
hasSubperiod
Native Americans ("Woodland period")
timeDepth
Bering Land Bridge ("Paleo-Indians")
usedBy

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