Paleo-Indian period

E42134

archaeological period cultural period prehistoric period

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.

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All labels observed (14)

Label	Occurrences
Paleo-Indians	3
Paleoindian period	3
Plains Paleoindian tradition	2
Late Paleoindian	1
Late Paleoindian period	1
Paleo-Indian	1
Paleo-Indian cultures	1
Paleo-Indian period canonical	1
Paleoindian	1
Paleoindian Period	1
Paleoindians	1
Woodland period	1
post-Clovis Paleoindian complex	1
pre-Clovis culture	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T324668 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Paleo-Indian period
Context triple: [Pre-Columbian era, hasSubperiod, Paleo-Indian period]

A. Pre-Columbian era
The Pre-Columbian era refers to the period in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and subsequent European contact, characterized by diverse and complex Indigenous civilizations and cultures.
B. Pleistocene epoch
The Pleistocene epoch was a geological time period characterized by repeated ice ages, widespread glaciation, and the evolution and global spread of modern humans.
C. Holocene
The Holocene is the current geological epoch, beginning around 11,700 years ago, characterized by relatively stable climate conditions and the development of human civilizations.
D. Quaternary period
The Quaternary period is the most recent division of geologic time, characterized by repeated ice ages, the evolution and global spread of modern humans, and significant climatic fluctuations over the last 2.6 million years.
E. Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was an ancient era characterized by the widespread use of bronze tools and weapons, early urbanization, and the emergence of complex societies across regions including the Near East, where the Hebrews lived.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Paleo-Indian period
Target entity description: 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.

A. Pre-Columbian era
The Pre-Columbian era refers to the period in the Americas before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and subsequent European contact, characterized by diverse and complex Indigenous civilizations and cultures.
B. Pleistocene epoch
The Pleistocene epoch was a geological time period characterized by repeated ice ages, widespread glaciation, and the evolution and global spread of modern humans.
C. Holocene
The Holocene is the current geological epoch, beginning around 11,700 years ago, characterized by relatively stable climate conditions and the development of human civilizations.
D. Quaternary period
The Quaternary period is the most recent division of geologic time, characterized by repeated ice ages, the evolution and global spread of modern humans, and significant climatic fluctuations over the last 2.6 million years.
E. Bronze Age
The Bronze Age was an ancient era characterized by the widespread use of bronze tools and weapons, early urbanization, and the emergence of complex societies across regions including the Near East, where the Hebrews lived.
F. None of above. chosen

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 ⓘ linked to: Clovis culture Folsom culture ⓘ linked to: Clovis 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 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited