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Where did Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada and the United States practice farming before European contact?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Map of North America showing international boundaries, country names, and capital cities. The map includes Canada, the United States, Mexico, Greenland, Central American countries, and Caribbean nations, with a locator inset at the bottom left for global context. Major bodies of water such as the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Caribbean Sea are labeled.
North America

Before European contact, Indigenous peoples in present-day Canada and the United States practiced agriculture across diverse regions, developing systems tailored to their specific environments.1

Eastern North America

In the lush river valleys east of the Mississippi River, societies transitioned from hunting and gathering to a farming-based economy. Early cultivation focused on local plants such as amaranth, sumpweed, sunflowers, and squash. By approximately 1000 CE, the Mississippian culture had adopted a corn-based economy, building large ceremonial centers like Cahokia. In the Northeast, tribes cultivated corn, beans, and squash, often utilizing slash-and-burn agriculture to maintain field fertility.213

The American Southwest

Indigenous peoples in the Southwest, including the Ancestral Pueblo, Mogollon, and Hohokam, developed sophisticated farming techniques to overcome regional aridity. These groups utilized irrigation canals, dams, and stream diversion to water crops such as corn, squash, beans, peppers, and cotton. These agricultural practices supported the growth of complex pueblo architecture and large, permanent settlements.24