List of archaeological periods (Mesoamerica)

The chronology of Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica is usually divided into the following eras:

Five Stage Classification
One of the most enduring classifications of archaeological periods & cultures was established in Gordon Willey and Philip Phillips' 1958 book Method and Theory in American Archaeology. They divided the archaeological record in the Americas into 5 phases. These are:
 * The Lithic stage
 * The Archaic stage
 * The Formative stage
 * The Classic stage
 * The Post-Classic stage