Ancient Native Americans
The Anasazi are ancient ancestors of the Pueblo. They were here from 500-1200 AD. They constructed dams, ditches, and canals to trap rain water from the tops of a tall flat mountain-like thing called a mesa. Their houses were made of adobe and stone, had more than one story, and were along walls of cliffs. They built roads for trade. They heavily influenced art and architecture of late groups.
The Adena are sometimes known as Eastern Woodlands People. They lived in the Ohio Valley around 700 BC. They grew plants such as squash, sunflowers, and barley. They were known to make beautiful Copper jewelry and fine pottery.
The Hopewell tribe, like the Adena tribe, are sometimes known as the Eastern Woodlands People. They arrived in the Ohio Valley around 300 BC. Some of the mounds that they built were as big as 40 feet high and 100 feet wide! Some artifacts show that they had an extensive trade network. They were refered as "mound builders" along with the Adena tribe.
Mississippians arrived in the Mississippi Valley around 800 AD. An increase in population caused a need for more land. More land resulted in multiple cities with up to 10,000 people. The largest city was Cahokia, and it was located near today's East St. Louis. In the center of Cahokia was a GIANT mound around 100 feet high and 14 acres long- that is bigger than the Great Pyramid of Egypt. Surrounding this giant mound were 120 smaller mounds.