type-site

[ tahyp-sahyt ]

noun

, Archaeology.

1. the place where artifacts characteristic of a particular culture or cultural stage have first been found in situ, customarily adopted as the name of that culture or stage.

type site

1. An archaeological or anthropological site regarded as definitively characteristic of a particular culture and whose name is often applied to the culture. For example, the Olduvai Gorge in northern Tanzania is the type site for the Oldowan culture.

Word History and Origins

Origin of type-site¹

First recorded in 1930–35; type + site