North American Native Americans

Introduction
While the civilizations of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca were flourishing in
Mesoamerica and South America, distinct civilizations were also emerging in
North America. These civilizations developed unique cultural traits and
characteristics that were influenced by their geographic location and their
ability to adapt to their surroundings. Sometimes Native American groups were
replaced by more successful groups, but the new groups would modify and
adapt to create new, yet related civilizations.

The Anasazi (Pueblo) Indians

When agriculture was discovered in Mesoamerica, knowledge of farming

began to spread northward, first to the American Southwest and eventually
along the shore of the Gulf Coast and into the valleys of the Mississippi River. In
arid, or dry, regions of what is now known as Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and
Colorado, the Anasazi people created a farming civilization that succeeded in
the shadows of the cliffs of the Chaco Canyon between AD 500 and 1200. They
did not rely on rivers for irrigation. Instead they collected water that ran off cliffs
during heavy rains and channeled it to their fields. The Anasazi are seen by
historians as the ancestors of todays Pueblo Indians.

Question: Look at the image below. Describe what you see in two-three
complete sentences.

For housing, the Anasazi used adobe and

stone to build multistoried, apartment-like
structures built into or along the walls of
protective cliffs or around large plazas.
The Spanish, whom you learned
conquered these areas, called these
structures, pueblos, or villages.

The heart of the Anasazi civilization in Chaco Canyon was Pueblo Bonito, a
massive complex that housed more than 1000 people in over 800 rooms! From
here, they built extensive road networks for trade. The Anasazi were expert
craftpeople who were known for their turquoise jewelry, woven baskets, and
black-on-white pottery with elaborate designs.

Eventually the Anasazi abandoned Pueblo Bonito, perhaps as a result of years of

drought, but later people like the Hopi and Zuni, two of the largest Pueblo
groups today, were influenced by the Anasazi.

The Eastern Woodland Native Americans

Although the Anasazi are considered to be the beginning civilization of the

Southwest, the ancient peoples of the Southeastern United States were greatly
influences by the Mississippian culture. This region of North America was home
to many tribes known, as a group, as the Eastern Woodlands peoples. Two of the
earliest Eastern Woodlands culture groups that would influence the Mississippians
were the Adena and the Hopewell.
Question: Look at the image below. This is an example of a Hopewell mound.
What does it look like to you? Approximately how big do you think it is? How
did the Hopewell build this?

The knowledge and practice of agriculture had spread to the Adena who lived
mainly in the Ohio River Valley by around 700 BC. They were among the first
people to grow crops like squash, sunflowers, gourds, and barley, a type of
grain. The Adena produced delicate examples of copper jewelry and fine
pottery. However, they are most remembered for building elaborate burial
mounds made of log structures covered by massive piles of dirt and earth.
About 400 years after the Adena in 300 BC, the Hopewell people arrived in the
Ohio River Valley and they, too, began to build elaborate mounds. Some of
these mounds were 40 feet high and over 100 feet across! Artifacts recovered
from these mounds tell historians and archeologists that the Hopewell had a
trade network that stretched west to Wyoming, south to the Gulf Coast, east to
the Atlantic, and north to the Great Lakes. Since both the Adena and the
Hopewell were culturally similarly, especially in building mounds, they are
together called the Mound Builders.

The Mississippian Indians

Around 800 AD, the Mississippian culture arose along the Mississippi River. The
native people used the fertile flood plains to grow maize and beans. These two
crops, along with others, helped the Mississippians population increase. They
needed more land, so people began to move into the Southeast. Large-scale
farming gave way to numerous cities, some with as many as 10,000 people. At
the center of these cities were large, pyramid-shaped mounds that were often
topped by temples or houses of the elite.

The largest city was at Cahokia, near St. Louis today. Its mound was even larger
than the Great Pyramid of Egypt! Surrounding it were more than 120 smaller
mounds. It is estimated that in 1250 AD, Cahokia had a greater population than
both Paris AND London at that time! For reasons that remain a mystery, the
Mississippian civilization collapsed by the beginning of the 1300s AD.

Question: Below is an artists drawing of what Cahokia might have looked like.
Why do you think the North American Natives built mounds?

Where did the Anasazi live? Identify at least two ways they adapted to their
environment.
Name three groups who lived in Southeastern United States.
Why do you think people build mounds?