United States History Student Edition

The Ancient Puebloans also built dwellings in the walls of steep cliffs. Cliff dwellings were well- suited for defense against military attack and offered protection from extreme weather. One of the largest cliff dwellings is Mesa Verde (MAY•suh VUHR•dee) in Colorado. This ancient, complex structure was home to several thousand people. The Ancient Puebloans began leaving their pueblos and cliff dwellings for smaller communities in about 1300. They might have abandoned their large villages and farms due to drought. The Hohokam To the south and west of the Ancient Puebloans, and around the same time, another people, the Hohokam (hoh•hoh•KAHM), also built great stone dwellings. The Hohokam culture flourished in what is now central and southern Arizona from about 200 C.E. to 1400. As with other early Native American cultures, the people’s name for themselves has been lost. The name Hohokam was given to this culture in modern times. As desert dwellers, the Hohokam were experts at maximizing their few sources of water. They irrigated (IHR•uh•gayt•uhd), or brought water to, their corn, cotton, and other crops by digging hundreds of miles of channels. The Hohokam also formed pottery, carved stone, and etched shells with acid. The shells serve as evidence of trade with coastal peoples. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING 1. Describing Describe the various forms of mounds created by the Mound Builders and their purposes. 2. Comparing What two types of homes did the Ancient Puebloans build? How were the two types similar? LESSON ACTIVITIES 1. Narrative Writing Suppose you are an archaeologist coming upon an ancient American city. Write a diary entry describing your discovery and your thoughts about what you have found. 2. Using Multimedia Work with a partner to create a visual presentation of one of the civilizations discussed in this lesson. Explain how that civilization’s achievements are responses to environmental conditions.

Ancient cliff dwellings are preserved at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado. The largest cliff dwelling is Cliff Palace, which could shelter up to 250 people. and New Mexico meet. The Ancient Puebloans thrived from about 1 C.E. to 1300. Previously, English-speaking Americans called these people the Anasazi, but descendants of the Ancient Puebloans dislike that name. The current name, Puebloans, comes from Spanish explorers of the 1500s, who marveled at their elaborate villages, which they called pueblos (PWEH•blohs). Visitors to New Mexico today can still see one of the most spectacular of the Ancient Puebloans’ settlements, Pueblo Bonito. The huge structure was at least four stories high and had hundreds of rooms. Around Pueblo Bonito, archaeologists have found traces of a complex network of roads linking the pueblo with other villages. They suggest that Pueblo Bonito might have been a center for trade or religion.

pueblo a Native American structure that housed many people

network an interconnected system structure a building

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