Ancient American Civilizations

Adena Culture, 800 BCE – 200 CE The Adena culture refers to the prehistoric American Indian peoples that lived in southern Ohio and neighboring regions of West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana during the Early Woodland Period. They were the first people in this region to settle down in small villages, cultivate crops, use pottery vessels, acquire exotic raw materials, such as copper and marine shell, to make ornaments and jewelry, and bury their honored dead in conical burial mounds.

The Adena lived in small villages near their gardens, but they likely moved frequently as they continued to follow a hunting and gathering way of life, which they supplemented with the harvest from their gardens. Adena pottery consisted of large, thick-walled vessels that likely were used to cook the ground-up seeds they gathered into a gruel something like oatmeal.

Hopewell Tradition, 300 BCE – 600 CE The Hopewell Tradition is the term used to describe a lifestyle that was shared by certain Native American groups in the northeastern and mid-western parts of the United States. They were connected by a common network of trade routes known as the Hopewell Exchange System. These trade routes were centered around rivers, such as the Illinois and the Ohio Rivers.

Hopewell Indians built larger, more elaborate mounds and burial grounds. They made beautifully crafted objects of art. They had a more complex system of leadership.

Mississippian Culture, 700 CE – 1700 CE The Mississippian culture was a mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southeastern United States from approximately 800 CE to 1500 CE, varying regionally. The Mississippian culture developed in the Mississippi River valley for which it is named.

Mississippians built large earthen pyramid mounds, or platform mounds Mississippians built large earthen pyramid mounds, or platform mounds. Such mounds were usually square, rectangular, or occasionally circular. Structures (domestic houses, temples, and burial buildings) were usually constructed atop such mounds. Large-scale maize-based (corn) agriculture was practiced which supported large populations and craft specialization. Potters learned to temper their pottery with shell. A widespread trade network connected such far away places as the Rocky Mountains, the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean. A complex chiefdom system was developed. Society was highly “stratified,” meaning not everyone was of equal rank. Political and religious power waas combined in the form of a priest/king.

Cahokia, 600 CE – 1400 CE According to archaeological finds, the Mississippian city of Cahokia was inhabited from about 600 to 1400. CE At its peak, from 1050 to 1200 CE, the city covered nearly six square miles and 20,000 to 30,000 people lived here. Over 120 mounds were built over time, and most of the mounds were enlarged several times. Houses were arranged in rows and around open plazas, and vast agricultural fields lay outside the city.

The largest mound is known as Monks Mound, named for the French monks who built a monastery on the top. The Mississippians used stone tools, digging sticks, woven baskets and their hands to build Monks Mound. Dirt was carried from the borrow pits in the baskets to the building site. It has been estimated that it took fifteen million baskets of earth to complete Monks Mound over a 300-year period. Monks Mound was 100 feet high.

Monks Mound was built in stages, perhaps enlarged following the death of a leader in preparation for a new building for his successor. A large structure, which archaeologists believe was a temple or palace, stood atop Monks Mound.

The Grand Plaza was actually built up as much as three feet to create a large 40-50 acre open space to hold rituals, public gatherings, games and markets. Borrow pits were created when soil was dug to use to make mounds. There was a large stockade fence which enclosed the plaza, Monk’s Mound, and other buildings.

Hohokam, 1 CE – 1450 CE The Hohokam people occupied much of southern Arizona from A.D. 1 to 1450. The name Hohokam (pronounced with the accent on the last syllable) comes from the word Hoohoogum, the name given by the contemporary Native Americans in this area to the prehistoric peoples whom they believe to be their ancestors.

The Hohokam were farmers who grew corn, beans, squash and agave The Hohokam were farmers who grew corn, beans, squash and agave. They also grew cotton for textiles. The Hohokam built hundreds of miles of canals throughout the valley to irrigate their agricultural fields. Some of these same canals were later re-excavated and used by pioneer farmers in historic times. The Hohokam had no domesticated livestock. They hunted game such as deer, rabbit, and quail. They harvested shellfish and fish from their canals.

Ancestral Pueblo People (Anasazi) 300 CE – 1300 CE Ancestral Pueblo Peoples , also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture centered on the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, comprising southern Utah, northern Arizona, northwest New Mexico, and southern Colorado.

The Anasazi lived in "houses" called pueblos, often built under the overhangs of cliffs, designed so that they could lift up entry ladders during enemy attacks, which provided security for the Pueblo peoples.

The Anasazi are are also known for their pottery The Anasazi are are also known for their pottery. In general, pottery was used for cooking or storage. It was usually black on white and depicted bold geometric designs.

The Anasazi were farmers whose main crops were beans, squash and corn. Corn was dried and ground into flour with tools called a mano and metate.

The Anasazi created rock art on cliff walls and boulders in the form of pictographs (paintings) and petroglyphs (carvings). The rock art depicted include animals, people, hunting scenes, shapes and lines. Archaeologists believe that some may be clan symbols marking locations where families lived or traveled , while some researchers think the images may have been created by religious leaders or village shamans.