Basketmaker III: A.D. 500 to 750

Overview

If you had lived during this time period, you would have been witness to many exciting new advances in technology. Things that later Pueblo people would take for granted—like pottery and the bow and arrow—were the latest innovations for people living during the Basketmaker III period.

The Basketmaker III period was a time of population growth in the Mesa Verde region. Much of this growth is believed to have been the result of people moving into the area from elsewhere, although archaeologists are not sure exactly where they came from. It was a time of great progress, with immigrants bringing new food and new technologies to the area. Domesticated beans, pottery, and the bow and arrow were all introduced into the Mesa Verde region during this time.

Farming became increasingly important during the Basketmaker III period, with the Pueblo people relying more and more on domesticated crops, especially corn. For most of the period, the climate was very favorable for agriculture, with few droughts. This may have encouraged immigration from other regions that had less-favorable conditions.

Most people in the Mesa Verde region during this time lived in small, scattered farmsteads that were home to one or two households, each with its own pithouse and outdoor storage facilities. As the population grew, clusters of farmsteads began to appear on the landscape, forming early communities. This coming together of larger groups of people set the stage for even more complex social developments during the following periods.

Basketmaker III settlement pattern.


Introduction	Paleoindian Archaic Basketmaker II Basketmaker III Pueblo I Pueblo II Pueblo III Post-Pueblo Historic Today Bibliography
Overview Food Housing Artifacts	Basketmaker III: A.D. 500 to 750 Overview If you had lived during this time period, you would have been witness to many exciting new advances in technology. Things that later Pueblo people would take for granted—like pottery and the bow and arrow—were the latest innovations for people living during the Basketmaker III period. The Basketmaker III period was a time of population growth in the Mesa Verde region. Much of this growth is believed to have been the result of people moving into the area from elsewhere, although archaeologists are not sure exactly where they came from. It was a time of great progress, with immigrants bringing new food and new technologies to the area. Domesticated beans, pottery, and the bow and arrow were all introduced into the Mesa Verde region during this time. Farming became increasingly important during the Basketmaker III period, with the Pueblo people relying more and more on domesticated crops, especially corn. For most of the period, the climate was very favorable for agriculture, with few droughts. This may have encouraged immigration from other regions that had less-favorable conditions. Most people in the Mesa Verde region during this time lived in small, scattered farmsteads that were home to one or two households, each with its own pithouse and outdoor storage facilities. As the population grew, clusters of farmsteads began to appear on the landscape, forming early communities. This coming together of larger groups of people set the stage for even more complex social developments during the following periods. Basketmaker III settlement pattern.
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