Compare the development of "canyon cultures" and "Mississippian cultures" in North America during the early thirteenth century

Question

In what ways did isolation facilitate cultural development? What role did trade play in supporting these cultures in a relatively hostile climate?

Answer 1

Answers will vary but correct responses should include: Development of the canyon cultures was evidenced in some sort of political network with an extraordinary system of roadways that radiated from a cluster of sites around the great canyon near the source of the Chaco River. While the environment seemed to be unsuitable for settled life and natural wealth was scarce, the region was densely settled in patches and turquoise became the basis of a limited export trade. They built ambitious cities or ceremonial centers around irregular plazas with massive outer walls enclosing them and roofs made of great timbers from pine forests in the hills. The economic basis of this civilization was fragile and irrigation was essential to help crops grow with the building of long irrigation canals. They had to deal with an ecological crisis that dried up the land and put a strain on irrigation. This caused a series of periodic contractions of the culture area and reorganizations of settlements. Problems of isolation defeated or limited revivals of settlements due to remoteness from other cultures. It also made it harder to transmit Mesoamerican crops and traditions beyond the world of Chaco Canyon. In the development of the "Mississippi Valley" cultures, natural ridges accumulated over centuries, wherever the floods dumped soil, and these ridges were the nurseries of the farmers' crops and the inspiration for mounds dredged from the swamps to provide gardens. Pools and lakes provided ideal centers for fish farming to supplement the field plants like maize. There were ceremonial centers in patterns similar to those of Mesoamerica that had platforms, topped with chambered structures that were loosely grouped around large plazas. Cahokia became a center for trade, serving as a commercial gateway between complementary zones with different environments and therefore different products.