Basketmaker

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June 24, 2026

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The term "Basket Maker" refers to stages of an ancient culture in the southwestern U.S. plateau area, or to members of that culture. This culture is also known as the Ancestral Pueblo culture, which existed from approximately 100 to 1600 CE.12

The early periods, Basketmaker II and III, are named for the fine basketry found. The Basketmaker II economy combined hunting, gathering, and some corn cultivation, with people living in caves or pithouses. The Basketmaker III period, also called Modified Basketmaker, saw increased agriculture, including beans and domesticated turkeys, and the use of pottery. These people built irrigation structures and lived in deeper pithouses.23

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Ancestral Pueblo culture
…their approximate dates are Late Basketmaker II (ad 100–500), Basketmaker III (500–750), Pueblo I (750–950), Pueblo II (950–1150), Pueblo III (1150–1300), and Pueblo IV (1300–1600). When the first cultural time lines of the American Southwest were created in the early 20th century, scientists included a Basketmaker I stage. They created…
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…their approximate dates are Late Basketmaker II (ad 100–500), Basketmaker III (500–750), Pueblo I (750–950), Pueblo II (950–1150), Pueblo III (1150–1300), and Pueblo IV (1300–1600). When the first cultural time lines of the American Southwest were created in the early 20th century, scientists included a Basketmaker I stage. They created…
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Canyon de Chelly National Monument
Relics of the Basket Maker culture have been found under those of the later Cliff Dweller and Pueblo cultures. Modern Navajo homes and farms occupy the canyon bottoms.
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Relics of the Basket Maker culture have been found under those of the later Cliff Dweller and Pueblo cultures. Modern Navajo homes and farms occupy the canyon bottoms.
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