The Study of Historic Archaeology in America

Very little attention has been paid to the study of the historic period, that is, the immediate contact and post-European contact periods extending from the 15th to the 20th centuries. Students of American archaeology, when encountering European materials in burials and village sites, have usually minimized the importance of such specimens, without seriously attempting to place them in the chronological scale. However, such items as glass beads, for example, are common denominators and they vary with the different centuries and through tribal preferences. The approximate date of the site is usually determined by the latest type of European material encountered. Among other factors, such as quantity, condition of artifacts, location of the site, character of the soil, age of the individual, associated artifacts are taken into consideration.

Archaeology · Geography · Historic site · Archaeological Research and Protection · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Geology · Historical and Cultural Archaeology Studies · History