Archaic culture, any of the ancient cultures of North or South America that developed from Paleo-Indian traditions and led to the adoption of agriculture. Archaic cultures are defined by a group of common characteristics rather than a particular time period or location; in Mesoamerica, Archaic cultures existed from approximately 8,000–2,000 bc, while some Archaic cultures in the Great Basin of the U.S. Southwest began at about the same time but persisted well into the 19th century. The primary characteristic of Archaic cultures is a change in subsistence and lifestyle; their Paleo-Indian predecessors were highly nomadic, specialized hunters and gatherers who relied on a few species of wild plants and game, but Archaic peoples lived in larger groups, were sedentary for part of the year, and partook of a highly varied diet that eventually included some cultivated foods. In these ways, Archaic cultures in the Americas are somewhat analogous to the Old World’s Mesolithic cultures.
Archaic peoples used a wide variety of food resources and based many of their choices on seasonal availability; food remains found at their archaeological sites include a range of mammals (including rabbits, antelope, deer, elk, moose, and bison), terrestrial and water birds, fish and shellfish, and plant foods such as tubers, roots, seeds, fruits, and nuts.
Archaic peoples also created a number of tools not seen before in the Americas. Their use of new food sources and creation of new tool types probably developed in tandem, with innovations in each realm fostering additional developments in the other. Basketry and netting augmented the collection and storage of new plant foods, while grinding stones made hard seeds readily edible. Hunting was augmented with the development of tanged and side-notched projectile points (although lanceolate points persisted), atlatl weights, birding and small game nets, and fishhooks. As a more reliable subsistence base allowed the congregation of larger groups, people became more sedentary and social complexity increased.
In the late Archaic people began to tend plants, albeit to a limited degree. In Northern America, Archaic peoples east of the Mississippi River focused on pigweed and related species, while groups in Mesoamerica worked with wild varieties of corn (maize) and those in South America worked with wild potato species. However, Archaic peoples continued to rely upon hunting and gathering for the majority of their food. When a population begins to place greater emphasis on food production and its associated technologies, it is generally said to have developed into a Woodland culture (in the Eastern Woodlands, Southeast, and Plains culture areas of Northern America), an early Puebloan culture (in the North American Southwest; see Ancestral Pueblo [Anasazi] culture), or a Preclassic or Formative culture (in Mesoamerica and South America;see pre-Columbian civilizations).