Type site

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Archaeological map of distribution of the Celtic Hallstatt culture c. 800–400 BCE.
Hallstatt Amber Choker necklace.
19th century illustration of Hallstatt swords.

In archaeology a type site (also known as a type-site or typesite) is a site that is considered the model of a particular archaeological culture. For example, the type site of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A culture is Jericho, in the West Bank. A type site is also often the eponym (the site after which the culture is named). For example, the type site of the pre-Celtic/Celtic Bronze Age Hallstatt culture is the lakeside village of Hallstatt, Austria.

In geology the term is used similarly for a site considered to be typical of a particular rock formation etc.

A type site contains artifacts, in an assemblage, that are typical of that culture. Type sites are often the first or foundational site discovered about the culture they represent. The use of this term is therefore similar to that of the specimen type in biology (see biological types) or locus typicus (type locality) in geology.

Notable type sites

Europe

Near East

Mesoamerica

North America

Oceania

Southern Asia

East Asia