United States History Student Edition

Early North American Cultures GUIDING QUESTION

Maya and the Aztec. The mounds had religious and social significance; they either contained burial chambers or were topped with temples. These facts indicate that cultures of Mexico and Central America, such as the Maya and Aztec, might have influenced the Mound Builders. Archaeologists have classified the North American earthwork-building cultures into three groups: the Adena, the Hopewell, and the Mississippian. Modern-day scientists assigned these names. No one knows what these early peoples called themselves. The Adena were hunters and gatherers who lived in the Ohio River valley from about 800 B.C.E. to 100 C.E. The Hopewell people came later, between 200 B.C.E. and 500 C.E. The Hopewell were farmers and traders who built huge burial earthworks in the shapes of birds, bears, and snakes. Within the Hopewell earthworks, archaeologists have discovered freshwater pearls, shells, cloth, and copper. Based on these finds, it is believed that the Hopewell trade networks

How did early Native American groups of North America adapt to their environments? Areas of the present-day United States and Canada also gave rise to advanced cultures long before Europeans arrived in the 1500s. Among these cultures were the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian, which developed in the central and eastern regions. The Hohokam and the Ancient Puebloans emerged in the southwestern region. The Adena and Hopewell Cultures In central and eastern North America, prehistoric Native Americans built thousands of earthen mounds, or earthworks. The earthworks were created by many different peoples over centuries. Scientists have sometimes referred to these different peoples collectively as the Mound Builders. These ancient earthworks take many different forms. One famous example is in the shape of a serpent. Some resemble the pyramids of the

extended for hundreds of miles. Mississippian Cahokia

The Mississippian cultures developed along the Mississippi River and throughout the Southeast.

collectively as a group

indicate point out; show

The Serpent Mound in Ohio is one of the most notable effigy mounds—mounds built in the shapes of animals or symbols. Scientists have been unable to determine conclusively when it was built or by whom, but some researchers believe it was built by the Adena people around 300 B.C.E.

Mark Burnett/Alamy Stock Photo.

14