"Anasazi" is the name given by archeologists to the early Pueblo culture that lived in the American Southwest between A.D. 1 and 1300. They raised corn, beans, squash, cotton, and turkeys, as well as hunted deer and bighorned sheep. Beginning about 750 they lived in multi-story homes of adobe or sandstone and had extensive trade contacts. The culture collapsed possibly due to drought or invasion. The modern Pueblo culture is believed to have developed out of it.

"Hohokam" is the name given by archeologists to a culture that lived in the American Southwest between 300 B.C. and A.D. 1200. Their irrigation system, the first in the region, was used to grow cotton, corn, beans, and squash. The Pima are believed to be their descendents.

"Mogollon" is the name given by archeologists to a culture that lived in the American Southwest between 500 B.C. and A.D. 1300. The Mogollon people lived in pit houses or pueblos, grew corn, and made distinctive pottery decorated with figures or sharp lines. They also hunted and gathered wild plants and animals. The modern Hopi and Zuni may be their descendents.

"Mississippian" is the name given by archeologists to a culture that lived in the American Midwest and Southeast between A.D. 900 and about 1700. The Mississippian built large earthen mounds as public platforms and burial sites. The introduction of corn into the region led to the first cities in the region. The largest at Cahokia, Illinois, had up to 20,000 people. At least some Mississippian cities were still occupied at the time of European contact. Many historians and archeologists suspect that epidemics wiped out so much of the population that the cities were abandoned. Many of the surviving nations of the region including the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Shawnee may have been descended from the Mississippian.