Plains Woodland period

It was the first tradition pattern on the Great Plains to widely engage in mound building and is also characterized by limited gardening and the production of ceramic cookware.

Broadly, its reach stretched westward to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains; eastward to the Great Plains's boundary with the Eastern Woodlands; southward up to the Red River of the South; and northward up to the boreal forest of Canada.

Development of the Plains Woodland peoples has been heavily tied to interactions with the Hopewell culture, which existed to the east.

The average size of a residential building was about 6 metres (20 ft) and were usually supported by wooden poles covered by hides, bark, thatching, or wattle and daub.

Some larger longhouse structures have been found in Kansas, and in the western stretches of the culture (particularly in Colorado), masonry construction took place.

[6] Additionally, the Plains Woodland peoples established several rendezvous sites, where various bands from across the region would congregate and engage in trade, culture, and ritual.

Native fauna hunted for resources also included cervids; mid-sized animals like raccoons, beavers, and dogs; and smaller game like rabbits and squirrels, and rarely reptiles or amphibians; and seafood such as fish and shellfish.

Herd sizes for migrating game were larger in the north, where the grasslands were more plentiful than in the more arid southern regions.

[7] The most common plants cultivated or gathered for consumption included maize, squash, sunflowers, and marsh elders.

[6] Food was commonly stored in ceramic vessels and often smoked, dried, boiled, or prepared for long-term storage.

These vessels are typically cord-roughened or impressed, and then tempered with a rough material like grit, sand, grog, or bone.

Other stone tool assemblages, including knives, hammers, scrapers, and axes, are common in open-air sites.