Community Life at Cahokia, by Michael Hampshire. Courtesy Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site

Long before Europeans explored North America, farmers had made mounds along the fertile Mississippi River Valley. Temples as well as homes for important members of society were built on top of these huge mounds. Other people lived in the thatched huts that surrounded the mounds. Wooden fortifications around the mound cities protected them. The people who lived in these cities were farmers and skilled artists who produced beautiful and useful objects, including pottery. Some smaller mounds built by native people of Minnesota are located near Red Wing.