Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents Summary for Volumes 1, 2 and 3
- Contents
- Volume 1 Maps
- Volume 2 Maps
- Volume 3 Maps
- About the Contributors
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- V. East Asia
- VI. The Americas
- 2.13 The Americas: DNA
- 2.14 Initial Peopling of the Americas: Context, Findings, and Issues
- 2.15 Paleoindian and Archaic Periods in North America
- 2.16 The Paleoindian and Archaic of Central and South America
- 2.17 The Archaic and Formative Periods of Mesoamerica
- 2.18 Agricultural Origins and Social Implications in South America
- 2.19 The Basin of Mexico
- 2.20 The Olmec, 1800–400 bce
- 2.21 Oaxaca
- 2.22 The Origins and Development of Lowland Maya Civilisation
- 2.23 Early Coastal South America
- 2.24 The Development of Early Peruvian Civilisation (2600–300 bce)
- 2.25 Styles and Identities in the Central Andes: The Early Intermediate Period and Middle Horizon
- 2.26 The Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon
- 2.27 Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela
- 2.28 Prehistory of Amazonia
- 2.29 Argentina and Chile
- 2.30 The Caribbean Islands
- 2.31 The Southwestern Region of North America
- 2.32 The Pacific Coast of North America
- 2.33 The Great Plains and Mississippi Valley
- 2.34 Eastern Atlantic Coast
- 2.35 Northern North America
- 2.36 The Americas: Languages
- Volume 3
- Index
- References
2.34 - Eastern Atlantic Coast
from VI. - The Americas
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 August 2014
- Frontmatter
- Contents Summary for Volumes 1, 2 and 3
- Contents
- Volume 1 Maps
- Volume 2 Maps
- Volume 3 Maps
- About the Contributors
- Volume 1
- Volume 2
- V. East Asia
- VI. The Americas
- 2.13 The Americas: DNA
- 2.14 Initial Peopling of the Americas: Context, Findings, and Issues
- 2.15 Paleoindian and Archaic Periods in North America
- 2.16 The Paleoindian and Archaic of Central and South America
- 2.17 The Archaic and Formative Periods of Mesoamerica
- 2.18 Agricultural Origins and Social Implications in South America
- 2.19 The Basin of Mexico
- 2.20 The Olmec, 1800–400 bce
- 2.21 Oaxaca
- 2.22 The Origins and Development of Lowland Maya Civilisation
- 2.23 Early Coastal South America
- 2.24 The Development of Early Peruvian Civilisation (2600–300 bce)
- 2.25 Styles and Identities in the Central Andes: The Early Intermediate Period and Middle Horizon
- 2.26 The Late Intermediate Period and Late Horizon
- 2.27 Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela
- 2.28 Prehistory of Amazonia
- 2.29 Argentina and Chile
- 2.30 The Caribbean Islands
- 2.31 The Southwestern Region of North America
- 2.32 The Pacific Coast of North America
- 2.33 The Great Plains and Mississippi Valley
- 2.34 Eastern Atlantic Coast
- 2.35 Northern North America
- 2.36 The Americas: Languages
- Volume 3
- Index
- References
Summary
For the purpose of this chapter, we divide the region into a northeastern and southeastern Atlantic Coast (referred to hereafter as the Northeast and the Southeast), noting the similarities and differences in the two regions’ prehistory. Both regions have a long history of archaeological research stretching back to some of the earliest archaeological work in North America during the 19th and early 20th centuries (e.g., Jeffries Wyman, Frederick Ward Putnam, C. C. Abbott and William Henry Holmes).
Ecological Setting
The Northeast includes the modern states of New England and New York: this is essentially the previously glaciated northeastern United States. The Northeast includes two primary eco-regions (areas of general homogeneity in ecosystems and their components: geology, physiography and hydrology, vegetation, soil, climate and wildlife), (1) the coastal plain and (2) the interior highlands, which are bisected by a range of both large and small river valleys (Map 2.34.1). The Northeast also includes a series of large and small offshore islands that were formed during the Pleistocene, mostly by glacial moraines, and which are overlain by outwash deposits. These islands and landforms include Long Island, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and a series of smaller islands.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World Prehistory , pp. 1293 - 1308Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2014