A Smithsonian trinomial (formally the Smithsonian Institution Trinomial System, abbreviated SITS) is a unique identifier assigned to archaeological sites in many states in the United States. Trinomials are composed of a one or two digit coding for the state, typically two letters coding for the county or county-equivalent within the state, and one or more sequential digits representing the order in which the site was listed in that county. The Smithsonian Institution developed the site number system in the 1930s and 1940s, but it no longer maintains the system. Trinomials are now assigned by the individual states. The 48 states then in the union were assigned numbers in alphabetical order. Alaska was assigned number 49 and Hawaii was assigned number 50, after those states were admitted to the union. There is no Smithsonian trinomial number assigned for the District of Columbia or any United States territory.
Most states use trinomials of the form "nnAAnnnn", but some specify a space or dash between parts of the identifier, i.e., "nn AA nnnn" or "nn-AA-nnnn". Some states use variations of the trinomial system. Arizona, California, Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island, and Vermont use two-letter abbreviations of the state name instead of the Smithsonian number. Alaska uses three-letter abbreviations for USGS map quadrangles in place of the county code. Arizona uses a five-part identifier based on USGS maps, specifying quadrangles, then rectangles within a quadrangle, a sequential number within the rectangle, and a code identifying the agency issuing the sequential number. California uses a three-letter abbreviation for counties. Connecticut and Rhode Island do not use any sub-state codes, with site identifiers consisting of the state abbreviation and a sequential number series for the whole state. Delaware uses a single letter code for counties and adds a block code (A-K) within each county, with sequential numbers for each block. Hawaii uses a four-part identifier, "50" for the state, a two-digit code for the island, then a two-digit code to designate the USGS topographical quad, plus a four digit sequential site number for sites on each island.
Archaeological site identification codes used by states
State Format County or equivalent codes Alabama 1AAnnnn AA: The code for a county is the first two letters in the county's name, with the following exceptions: Barbour=Br, Bibb=Bb, Blount=Bt, Bullock=Bk, Cherokee=Ce, Clinton=Cn, Choctaw=Cw, Clarke=Ck, Clay=Cy, Cleburne=Cb, Colbert=Ct, Conecuh=Cc, Coosa=Cs, Dallas=Ds, DeKalb=Dk, Elmore=Ee, Lamar=Lr, Lauderdale=Lu, Macon=Mc, Maringo=Mo, Marion=My, Marshall=Ms, Mobile=Mb, Monroe=Mn, Montgomery=Mt, Morgan=Mg, St. Clair=Sc, Tallapoosa=Tp, Washington=Wn, and Wilcox=Wx. Alaska 49‑AAA‑nnnn AAA: Three letter codes are abbreviations of the names for quadrangles on USGS maps for Alaska. Arizona AZ AA:NN:nn(XXX) AA: One or two letter code, A through FF, identifying USGS map quadrangles (one degree of latitude by one degree of longitude) in Arizona. NN: One or two digit number, 1 though 16, identifying rectangles (15' USGS maps) in a quadrangle map. Arkansas 3AAnnnn List of counties in Arkansas California CA‑AAA‑nnnn AAA: County Abbreviation Codes (Appendix 1) Colorado 5AAnnnn AA: County Abbreviation Codes Connecticut CT‑nnnnn No county code; state abbreviation and a sequential number only Delaware 7ABnnnn A: K = Kent County, N = New Castle County, and S = Sussex County. B: Figure 25: Map of blocks Florida 8AAnnnn AA: The code for a county is the first two letters in the county's name, with the following exceptions: Bay=BY, Bradford=BF, Broward=BD, Collier=CR, Gadsden=GD, Hardee=HR, Hendry=HN, Highlands=HG, Lafayette=LF, Lee=LL, Levy=LV, Madison=MD, Marion=MR, Martin=MT, Miami-Dade=DA, Okeechobee=OB, Palm Beach=PB, St. Johns=SJ, St. Lucie=SL, Santa Rosa=SR, Sarasota=SO, Sumter=SM, Walton=WL, and Washington=WS. Georgia 9AAnnnn AA: County Abbreviation Codes Hawaii 50‑AA‑BB‑nnnn AA: 10 = Hawaii, 20 = Kaho'olawi, 30 = Kaua'i, 40 = Lana'i, 50 = Maui, 60 = Moloka'i, 80 = O'ahu, 91 = Necker, 92 = NihoaBB: USGS Quad number Idaho 10AAnnnn AA: Idaho County Abbreviations for Site Designation Illinois 11AAnnnn List of counties in Illinois Indiana 12AAnnnn List of counties in Indiana Iowa 13AAnnnn AA: Iowa County Abbreviations for Site Designation Kansas 14AAnnnn AA: Kansas County Abbreviations for Archeological Trinomials Kentucky 15AAnnnn List of counties in Kentucky ADAIR (AD); ALLEN (AL); ANDERSON (AN); BALLARD (BA); BARREN (BN); BATH (BH); BELL (BL); BOONE (BE); BOURBON (BB); BOYD (BD); BOYLE (BO); BRACKEN (BK); BREATHITT (BR); BRECKINRIDGE (BC); BULLITT (BU); BUTLER (BT); CALDWELL (CA); CALLOWAY (CW); CAMPBELL (CP); CARLISLE (CE); CARROLL (CL); CARTER (CR); CASEY (CS); CHRISTIAN (CH); CLARK (CK); CLAY (CY); CLINTON (CT); CRITTENDEN (CN); CUMBERLAND (CU); DAVIESS (DA); EDMONSON (ED); ELLIOTT (EL); ESTILL (ES); FAYETTE (FA); FLEMING (FL); FLOYD (FD); FRANKLIN (FR); FULTON (FU); GALLATIN (GA); GARRARD (GD); GRANT (GR); GRAVES (GV); GRAYSON (GY); GREEN (GN); GREENUP (GP); HANCOCK (HA); HARDIN (HD); HARLAN (HL); HARRISON (HR); HART (HT); HENDERSON (HE); HENRY (HY); HICKMAN (HI); HOPKINS (HK); JACKSON (JA); JEFFERSON (JF); JESSAMINE (JS); JOHNSON (JO); KENTON (KE); KNOTT (KT); KNOX (KX); LARUE (LU); LAUREL (LL); LAWRENCE (LA); LEE (LE); LESLIE (LS); LETCHER (LR); LEWIS (LW); LINCOLN (LI); LIVINGSTON (LV); LOGAN (LO); LYON (LY); MCCRACKEN (MCN); MCCREARY (MCY); MCLEAN (MCL); MADISON (MA); MAGOFFIN (MG); MARION (MN); MARSHALL (ML); MARTIN (MT); MASON (MS); MEADE (MD); MENIFEE (MF); MERCER (ME); METCALFE (MC); MONROE (MR); MONTGOMERY (MM); MORGAN (MO); MUHLENBERG (MU); NELSON (NE); NICHOLAS (NI); OHIO (OH); OLDHAM (OL); OWEN (ON); OWSLEY (OW); PENDLETON (PD); PERRY (PE); PIKE (PI); POWELL (PO); PULASKI (PU); ROBERTSON (RB); ROCKCASTLE (RK); ROWAN (RO); RUSSELL (RU); SCOTT (SC); SHELBY (SH); SIMPSON (SI); SPENCER (SP); TAYLOR (TA); TODD (TO); TRIGG (TR); TRIMBLE (TM); UNION (UN); WARREN (WA); WASHINGTON (WS); WAYNE (WN); WEBSTER (WE); WHITLEY (WH); WOLFE (WO); WOODFORD (WD) Louisiana 16AAnnnn List of parishes in Louisiana Maine ME-nn-nn Maryland 18AAnnnn List of counties in Maryland Massachusetts 19-AA-nnnn Michigan 20AAnnnn List of counties in Michigan Minnesota 21AAnnnn AA: Trinomial Site Designations for MN Counties Mississippi 22‑AA‑nnnn List of counties in Mississippi Missouri 23AAnnnn List of counties in Missouri Montana 24AAnnnn AA: Trinomial Site Designations for MT Counties Nebraska 25AAnnnn Nevada 26AAnnnn New Hampshire 27‑AA‑nnnn AA: Belknap (BK)Carroll (CA)Cheshire (CH)Coos (CO)Grafton (GR)Hillsborough (HB)Merrimack (MR)Rockingham (RK)Strafford (ST)Sullivan (SU) New Jersey 28AAnnnn New Mexico 29AAnnnnNew YorkAAAAA.nnnnnnFirst five digits are the Minor Civil Division, followed by a sequential number for sites within that division. North Carolina 31AAnnnn List of counties in North Carolina AA: Alamance (AM)Alexander (AX)Alleghany (AL)Anson (AN)Ashe (AH)Avery (Av)Beaufort (BF)Bertie (BR)Bladen (BL)Brunswick (BW)Buncombe (BN)Burke (BK)Cabarrus (CA)Caldwell (CW)Camden (CM)Carteret (CR)Caswell (CS)Catawba (CT)Chatham (CH)Cherokee (CE)Chowan (CO)Clay (CY)Cleveland (CL)Columbus (CB)Craven (CV)Cumberland (CD)Currituck (CK)Dare (DR)Davidson (DV)Davie (DE)Duplin (DP)Durham (DH)Edgecombe (ED)Forsyth (FY)Franklin (FK)Gaston (GS)Gates (GA)Graham (GH)Granville (GV)Greene (GR)Guilford (GF)Halifax (HX)Harnett (HT)Haywood (HW)Henderson (HN)Hertford (HF)Hoke (HK)Hyde (HY)Iredell (ID)Jackson (JK)Johnston (JT)Jones (JN)Lee (LE)Lenoir (LR)Lincoln (LN)Macon (MA)Madison (MD)Martin (MT)McDowell (MC)Mecklenburg (MK)Mitchell (ML)Montgomery (MG)Moore (MR)Nash (NS)New Hanover (NH)Northampton (NP)Onslow (ON)Orange (OR)Pamlico (PM)Pasquotank (PK)Pender (PD)Perquimans (PQ)Person (PR)Pitt (PT)Polk (PL)Randolph (RD)Richmond (RH)Robeson (RB)Rockingham (RK)Rowan (RW)Rutherford (RF)Sampson (SP)Scotland (SC)Stanly (ST)Stokes (SK)Surry (SR)Swain (SW)Transylvania (TV)Tyrrell (TY)Union (UN)Vance (VN)Wake (WA)Warren (WR)Washington (WH)Watauga (WT)Wayne (WY)Wilkes (WK)Wilson (WL)Yadkin (YD)Yancey (YC) North Dakota 32AAnnnn AA: NDCRS Site Form Training Manual - Section I: Site Identification - County Codes (Page 10) Ohio 33‑AA‑nnnn AA: Appendix B: County Codes (OAI Codes) (Page 61) Oklahoma 34AAnnnn AA: Table 1 Oregon 35‑AA‑nnnn List of counties in Oregon Pennsylvania 36‑AA‑nnnn List of counties in Pennsylvania Rhode Island RI‑nnnn No county code; state abbreviation and a sequential number only South Carolina 38AAnnnn List of counties in South Carolina AA: Abbeville (AB) · Aiken (AK) · Allendale (AL) · Anderson (AN) · Bamberg (BA) · Barnwell (BR) · Beaufort (BU) · Berkeley (BK) · Calhoun (CL) · Charleston (CH) · Cherokee (CK) · Chester (CS) · Chesterfield (CT) · Clarendon (CR) · Colleton (CN) · Darlington (DA) · Dillon (DN) · Dorchester (DR) · Edgefield (ED) · Fairfield (FA) · Florence (FL) · Georgetown (GE) · Greenville (GV) · Greenwood (GN) · Hampton (HA) · Horry (HR) · Jasper (JA) · Kershaw (KE) · Lancaster (LA) · Laurens (LU) · Lee (LE) · Lexington (LX) · Marion (MA) · Marlboro (ML) · McCormick (MC) · Newberry (NB) · Oconee (OC) · Orangeburg (OR) · Pickens (PK) · Richland (RD) · Saluda (SA) · Spartanburg (SP) · Sumter (SU) · Union (UN) · Williamsburg (WG) · York (YK) South Dakota 39AAnnnn TennesseeList of archaeological sites in Tennessee 40AAnnnn AA: County Abbreviations for Archaeological Site Numbers Texas 41AAnnnn AA: Texas County Abbreviations Utah 42‑AA‑nnnn AA: List of counties in Utah (p. 3) Vermont VT‑AA‑nnnn AA: Addison (AD) Bennington (BE) Caledonia (CA)Chittenden (CH) Essex (ES) Franklin (FR) Grand Isle (GI) Lamoille (LA) Orange (OR) Orleans (OL)Rutland (RU) Washington (WA) Windham (WD) Windsor (WN) Virginia 44-AA-nnnn List of county and city abbreviations in Virginia Washington 45‑AA‑nnnn List of counties in Washington West Virginia 46‑AA‑nnnn List of counties in West Virginia Wisconsin 47‑AA‑nnnn List of counties in Wisconsin Wyoming 48AAnnnn List of counties in Wyoming and also YE for sites within Yellowstone National Park
References
External links
Digital Index of North American Archaeology (public database of Smithsonian Trinomial identified sites)