Periods inNorth American prehistory
Lithic stage before 8500 BC Archaic period 8000–1000 BC Formative stage 1000 BC – AD 500 Woodland period 1000 BC – AD 1000 Classic stage AD 500–1200 Post-Classic stage after 1200 See also List of archaeological periods (Mesoamerica)
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In the sequence of cultural stages first proposed for thearchaeology of the Americas byGordon Willey andPhilip Phillips in 1958, theLithic stage was the earliest period of human occupation in the Americas, as post-glacial hunter gatherers spread through the Americas.^[1][2] The stage derived its name from the first appearance offlakedstone tools.^[3] The termPaleo-Indian is an alternative, generally indicating much the same period.

This stage was conceived as embracing two major categories of thestone technology: (1) unspecialized and the largely unformulated core and flake industries, with percussion the dominant and perhaps only technique employed, and (2) industries exhibiting more advanced "blade" techniques of stoneworking, with specialized fluted or unfluted lanceolate points the most characteristic artifact types. Throughout South America, there are stone tool traditions of the lithic stage, such as the "fluted fishtail", that reflect localized adaptations to the diverse habitats of the continent.^[4]

The indications and timing of the end of the Lithic stage vary between regions. The use oftextiles, firedpottery, and start of the gradual replacement ofhunter gatherer lifestyles withagriculture anddomesticated animals would all be factors. End dates vary, but are around 5000 to 3000 BC in many areas. TheArchaic stage is the most widely used term for the succeeding stage, but in theperiodization of pre-Columbian Peru, theCotton Pre-Ceramic may be used. As in theNorte Chico civilization, cultivatedcotton seems to have been very important in economic and power relations, from around 3200 BC.

Archeologist Alex Krieger has documented hundreds of sites that have yielded crude, percussion-flaked tools. The most convincing evidence for a lithic stage is based upon data recovered from sites in South America, where such crude tools have been found and dated to more than 20,000 years ago.^[5]

In North America, the time encompasses thePaleo-Indian period, which subsequently is divided into more specific time terms, such asEarly Lithic stage orEarly Paleo-Indians, andMiddle Paleo-Indians orMiddle Lithic stage.^[6] Examples include theClovis culture andFolsom tradition groups.

The Lithic stage was followed by theArchaic stage.

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Source:^[7]

• 19000—21000 BP Humans present in theWhite Sands region of New Mexico.^[8]
• 14,800-13,800 BP: A twenty-foot-long tent-like structure of wood and animal hides excavated fromMonte Verde level II, Chile
• 12,340–10,800 BC: a stone-lined hearth andcoprolites left inPaisley Caves,Oregon^[9]
• 11,300 BCE: Mound B of theLSU campus mounds was built.
• 10,200 BCE:Cooper Bison skull is painted with a red zigzag in present-dayOklahoma; it is the oldest known painted object in North America.^{[10][citation needed]}

• 9500 BCE:Cordilleran andLaurentide Ice Sheets retreat enough to open a habitable ice-free corridor through the northern half of the continent along the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains.
• 9500 BCE: People craft earlyClovis spear points,knives, andskin scrapers from rock in New Mexico.
• 9250–8950 BCE:Clovis points – thin, fluted projectile points created using bifacial percussion flaking – are created byClovis culture peoples in the Plains and Southwestern North America.^[11]
• 9001 BCE: Archaeological materials found on theChannel Islands of California and incoastal Peru.
• 9000 BCE: Archaeological materials found onChannel Islands off the California coast
• 9000 BCE: First settlers arrive in the Great Basin with its cool, wet prevailing climate
• 9000–8900 BCE: TheFolsom culture in New Mexico leavesbison bones and stonespear points.
• 8700 BCE: Human settlement reaches the Northwestern Plateau region.^{[citation needed]}
• 8000 BCE: The lastglacial ends, causingsea levels to rise and flood theBeringia land bridge, closing the primary migration route fromSiberia.
• 8000 BCE: Sufficient rain falls on the American Southwest to support many large mammal species –mammoth,mastodon, andbison – that soon go extinct.
• 8000 BCE: Native Americans leave documented traces of their presence in every habitable corner of the Americas, including the American Northeast, the Pacific Northwest, and a cave onPrince of Wales Island in the Alexander archipelago of southeast Alaska, possibly following these game animals.^{[citation needed]}

Times from the 8000 BCE to about 3000 BCE may be classified as part of the lithic stage or of an archaic stage, depending on authority and on region.^{[clarification needed][citation needed]}

• 7500 BCE: Earlybasketry.^{[citation needed]}
• 7560–7370 BCE:Kennewick Man dies along the shore of theColumbia River in Washington state; his remains were one of the most complete early Native American skeletons.^[12]
• 7000 BCE: Northeastern peoples depend increasingly ondeer,nuts, and wildgrains as the climate warms.
• 7000 BCE: Native Americans inLahontan Basin, Nevadamummify their dead to give them honor and respect, expressing deep concern about their treatment and condition.
• 6500 BCE–200 CE: TheSan Dieguito–Pinto tradition andChihuahua tradition flourish in southern California, the Southwest, and northwestern Mexico.
• 6000 BCE: Ancestors ofPenutian-speaking peoples settle in the Northwestern Plateau.
• 6000 BCE: Nomadic hunting bands roam Subarctic Alaska following herds ofcaribou and other game animals.
• 6000 BCE:Aleuts begin to settle theAleutian Islands.
• 5700 BCE: Cataclysmic eruption ofMount Mazama in Oregon.
• 5500 BCE–500 CEOshara tradition, aSouthwestern Archaic tradition, arises in north-centralNew Mexico, theSan Juan Basin, theRio Grande Valley, southernColorado, and southeasternUtah.
• Natives of the Northwestern Plateau begin to rely onsalmon runs.
• 5000 BCE: Early cultivation of food crops began inMesoamerica.
• 5000 BCE: Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest from Alaska to California develop a fishing economy, withsalmon as a staple.
• 5000 BCE: TheOld Copper Culture of theGreat Lakes area hammers the metal into various tools and ornaments, such asknives,axes,awls,bracelets,rings, andpendants.

• Archaeology of the Americas
• History of Mesoamerica (Paleo-Indian)
• Indigenous Amerindian genetics

• 1958 introductions
• 1950s neologisms
• Paleo-Indian period
• Pre-Columbian cultures
• Late Prehistoric period of North America
• History of Indigenous peoples of North America
• History of Indigenous peoples of South America
• Late Pleistocene

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