At the time of European contact, there were approximately 40 million Native Americans, and many ancient sites could be found north of Mexico.

By the American Revolution, many landscape features were destroyed or ignored by most Euro-Americans.

Thomas Jefferson played an important role in establishing the link between the earthworks and indigenous Native Americans.

There were approximately 400 languages spoken.

Sociopolitical formations ranged from highly stratified empires to egalitarian foraging societies.

Food procurement strategies ranged from hunting and gathering to horticulture.

Poverty Point

Hopewell

Cahokia

Moundville

The Draper Site

Snaketown

Chaco Canyon

Ozette

Important resources included wild plant and animals foods.

Population growth contributed to reduced mobility around 4000 B.C.

Several plant species were cultivated by 1500 B.C.; foraging, however, remained the dominant subsistence pattern.

The large-scale construction dwarfed contemporaneous settlements in North America.

The main complex is a set of six concentric, earthen ridges with the outer one measuring three-quarters of a mile in diameter and the level area at the center comprising about 35 acres.

An associated large mound measures over 70 feet high and about 650 feet long.

Both domesticated and wild foods were relied upon.

Thousands of small baked clay objects have been found.

Stone working was an important activity at this site.

The Hopewell tradition appeared around 100 B.C.

The trade network has been referred to as the "Hopewell Interaction Sphere."

Goods entering the system came from across the continent.

The focus of the sphere was in the south-central part of Ohio.

Mounds were erected between 100 B.C. and A.D. 400 in several locations.

Burial mound complexes had graves that contained many objects.

Violence was forbidden when peace pipes were being passed.

Pipes may have been ritual weapons.

Pipes may have been part of the mechanism of exchange, which served to reduce regional differences.

The bow and arrow replaced the atlatl and was the dominant weapon by A.D. 1000

Around A.D. 800, maize became a major crop. Beans and squash were also cultivated.

Storage of maize increased significantly.

Population size increased, reflecting a more sedentary lifestyle.

Cahokia became a hub of an extensive exchange network.

Agricultural inhabitants settled in the area between A.D. 600 and 800.

At its peak between A.D. 1050 and 1250, Cahokia was the largest center north of Mexico.

Cahokia was well planned, and its construction appears to have required the control of a large, organized labor force.

The site encompasses more than 5 square miles and may have had a population between 10,000 and 20,000.

The central area covered over 200 acres and was surrounded by a massive wall that served defensive purposes.

Monks Mound was the largest prehistoric structure in the United States.

Some of the mounds were used for burial.

Maize was the economic foundation of complex societies in the Southeast by A.D. 1200.

Social and political hierarchies were manifested in public architecture.

Moundville was second in size only to Cahokia and was initially occupied around A.D. 1050

Communities varied greatly in size.

Larger polities, which may have had several levels of chiefs, emerged after A.D. 1200.

Relationships between communities were maintained, in part, through exchange.

The Southern Cult was a network of interaction, exchange, and shared information.

Cult items have been found from Oklahoma to the Atlantic Coast, and from Minnesota to Mississippi.

Certain motifs characterized the style; the most famous objects are effigy jars decorated with human faces.

The site covered over 200 acres with twenty large platform mounds; it was occupied by an estimated 3000 people at its height.

Elite residential areas could be distinguished from other areas.

Social status appears to have been inherited.

Walls and ditches surrounded many communities.

Skeletal studies revealed scalping and the taking of trophy heads.

Warfare is prominent in the iconography of the Southern Cult.

Northeast groups were organized less hierarchically than societies of the Southeast.

Leaders were chosen for their abilities to settle disputes, and leadership was based more on achievement than inheritance.

Villages were composed of longhouses instead of platform mounds.

Before this time people lived in semi permanent settlements that were positioned near good fishing locations.

Villages were moved from major rivers and lakes to hilltop locations that were naturally defendable.

By A.D. 1100 maize became more important; fishing, however, remained a key part of the diet.

More permanent settlements appeared after A.D. 1300 and warfare intensified.

Relatively short occupation was not unusual for the area.

The site had a defensive palisade rows and was originally composed of over a half-dozen longhouses that accommodated about 400 people.

All the longhouses had similar features.

The site reached about 8.5 acres in size.

Five expansions occurred in which additional longhouses were built.

Over time, an increasing amount of space was added for non residential purposes.

Hunter-gatherers first populated the area around 9000 B.C., relying on big game.

By 5500 B.C., big game hunting had declined and reliance was placed on smaller animals and a variety of plant resources.

Maize and other domesticates were introduced from Mexico by 1000 B.C., however, many groups retained a foraging subsistence patterns.

A more sedentary existence was marked by foundation pits, storage facilities, crude pottery, and maize farming.

Permanent dwellings were constructed, often with wattle and daub.

The Hohokam lived in southern Arizona and northern Mexico.

Snaketown was situated in a region where the Salt and Gila Rivers come together, which provided good agricultural land; the rivers could be used for irrigation.

Soon after its foundation, the population may have been about 100 people.

Ball courts, similar to those found in Mesoamerica, were erected.

Platform mounds were made of adobe and earth and may have been used for ceremonial purposes.

By A.D. 900, Snaketown covered 0.4 square miles and may have had

500-1000 occupants.

Irrigation networks were established that reached up to 12.5 miles in length.

Hohokam cultural tradition was marked by red-on-buff pottery.

Elaborate shell- and stone-working industries emerged.

Snaketown was largely abandoned.

By the time of Spanish contact, the Hohokam were completely gone.

Several hypotheses have been put forth to explain the demise of the culture.

Rainfall is marginal and inhabitants relied on floodwater farming.

The Anasazi tradition developed from hunting-and-gathering peoples around 2,000 years ago.

The first Anasazi sites appeared around A.D. 100 and contained 5-10 shallow pithouses.

During the first few centuries A.D., the Anasazi increasing relied on domesticated corn, beans, and squash as well as wild plant and animals.

Some communities had between 50-100 pithouses.

Shabik'eschee, a village in the Chaco region, had 68 pit dwellings, a large kiva, and numerous storage pits.

Rectangular storage rooms were constructed of adobe or layered masonry.

Later these rectangular structures were used as dwellings.

Chaco Canyon supported at least nine large towns of several hundred rooms each.

The towns stood as high as four stories and averaged 288 rooms.

The towns were built according to preconceived plans with uniformity in masonry styles.

Pueblo Bonito was the largest town.

A regional trading network covered 20,000 square miles.

There were at least 125 towns with distinctive Chacoan architecture.

Settlements were linked by a complex of roads.

Population decreased and perhaps shifted to other regions.

By A.D. 1300, the Anasazi region went though a major demographic shift and many sites were abandoned.

By 2000-3000 B.C., coastal foods were being exploited including fish, sea mammals, and waterfowl.

Large, permanent communities of several hundred people appeared by A.D. 1000 despite the absence of agriculture.

The abundance of large cedar trees and the abundance of food allowed for the production of surplus goods and ornate material items.

By 500 B.C., social ranking appeared with individuals ranging in rank from chief to slave.

Whaling was undertaken by wealthy individuals.

People settled in the area over 2000 years ago, and Ozette grew into a major whaling village.

Abundant sea resources were available to the inhabitants as were land mammals in smaller quantities.

The village was about a mile long and had a maximum population of about 800 people.

After European contact, the population of Ozette declined.

Cedar planks were used to construct large dwellings, some of which were 60 feet long by 33 feet wide.

The presence of several hearths in each house suggest that the large structures were occupied by more than one nuclear family.