Ancient Native American Groups

LEQ- Who were the first Americans and where did they come from?

Most ancient Native American groups were nomadic so it is hard to find many remains of them since they moved so often.

2 types of Native Americans were the exception because they left large collections of artifacts.◦ Mound Builders who created large artificial hills

for burial or religious worship◦ Cliff Dwellers who’s houses in cliffs in the dry

southwest have survived for hundreds of years

Mound Builders and Cliff Dwellers

Lived and built mounds in southern Ohio Their culture existed from 2700 to 1800

years ago They were early farmers but got most of

their food from hunting and gathering wild plants.

The Adena

Grave Creek Mound

Lived in a wide area around the Ohio river valley and influenced many other groups of Native Americans

They were mostly farmers. They traded with groups as far as Florida,

Wyoming, and Canada Their Mounds were usually larger and

contained more advanced artifacts They lived from 2100 to 1500 years ago

The Hopewell

They lived from year 700 to around 1500 Their mounds were used for temples rather

than for graves They were advanced farmers and were able

to build cities as large as 40,000 people. The largest was Cahokia.

They traded farthest of all. We have found goods made as far away as Central America.

Cahokia alone had more than 100 mounds.

The Mississippian Culture

Part of the remains of Cahokia

This group is known for the houses they built into the walls of cliffs.

They were farmers who lived from years 100 to 1300.

Like the mound building groups they traded with groups thousands of miles away.

Their disappearance is a mystery. Many archaeologists suspect there was a drought that killed some and forced the others to move.

Anasazi Pueblos

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