The Anasazi Indians lived over 1,000 years ago. The Anasazi built their homes in special places. They mainly built their homes into the side of mesas. The buildings that the Anasazi lived in looked like large apartment buildings. These buildings had over 200 rooms, and more than 400 people lived there. The Anasazi built their buildings with stone. Rooms were sometimes built on top of other rooms as the family grew. The Anasazi were farmers. This gave the mesa a green appearance. For this reason, the community that the Anasazi lived in was called Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde meant green table. The Anasazi grew corn, beans, and squash. Another group of Indians called the Pueblo Indians are Indians who live in stone or adobe, dried clay, houses. The Anasazi were Pueblo Indians because they built their homes out of stone and clay. The Hopi are also Pueblo Indians. The Hopi Indians have lived in the same area of the Southwest since before the time of Columbus. The Hopi Indians believed in many gods. The Hopi used Kachinas to talk to their gods. Kachinas were Hopi spirits or gods, which lived within the mountains. Hopi dancers would dress like Kachinas to represent, or stand for, the gods. Hopi Kachinas talked to the gods by singing and dancing. The Kachinas danced and sang for rain. The Hopi would plant corn in the paths that the running water took. Like the Anasazi, the Hopi grew corn, beans, and squash. But the Hopi Indians depended on the rain to make their crops grow. The Hopi also planted cotton and tamed wild turkeys. The Hopi entered their homes through a hole in the ceiling with ladders. Hopi Indians of today live in the same type of homes, but now have doors and windows. .
Many small tribes such as the Makah, the Chinook, and the Tillamook lived in this culture area. The Northwest Culture depended on the forests for their shelter. The houses were built with frames of large trees. In the back of the house were wooden racks that dried fish, wooden sheds for smoking fish, and storage sheds.