In the attributes settings checkbox 'Enable Archives?' should be checked!! If you see that term-page for the first time and that checkbox is checked - any way press save button on the page.
Type should be 'Select' - Type determines how you select attributes for products. Under admin panel -> products -> product data -> attributes -> values, Text allows manual entry whereas select allows pre-configured terms in a drop-down list.
Note: if you see that checkboxes are checked in the terms options - any way press save button there to be sure.