United States History Student Edition

Significant Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian Sites The Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian peoples lived throughout much of the eastern half of the present-day United States.

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GEOGRAPHY CONNECTION 1. Spatial Thinking Which of the three culture groups was spread over the widest area? 2. Exploring Location What geographic feature is common to most of the Mississippian sites shown?

“ Before we came into this land we lived yonder under the sun, [the speaker pointed toward Mexico] . . . Our nation extended itself along the great water [the Gulf of Mexico] where this large river [the River St. Louis] loses itself. ” —Natchez legend The Ancient Puebloans The Ancient Puebloans (PWEH•bloh•uhnz) built great stone dwellings in the dry, hot desert in the Four Corners region. This is where the four modern-day states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona,

Sometime after 900 C.E., the culture’s largest known earthworks complex was built in present-day Illinois. Later named Cahokia (kuh•HOH•kee•uh), the complex might have had 20,000 or more residents. Farms and settlements surrounded Cahokia, which became the center of Mississippian culture. Cahokia appears to have resembled the ancient cities of Mexico. A great pyramid-shaped earthwork dominated Cahokia. Known as Monks Mound, it rose nearly 100 feet (30 m). A temple crowned the summit of Monks Mound. A legend of the Natchez people, descendants of the Mississippians, hints of a direct link to Mexico:

dominated had a commanding position over

TEXT: Du Pratz, M. Le Page, tr. 1774. The History of Louisiana, or of the Western Parts of Virginia and Carolina. London: T. Becket.

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The First Americans