Could Mississippians or Ancestral Puebloans farm without irrigation?
The ability to farm without irrigation largely depends on the climate and environmental conditions of a region. Mississippians were able to farm without irrigation due to the humid climate and abundant rainfall in the region. They practiced a form of agriculture called "slash and burn" agriculture, where they would clear a patch of land and burn the vegetation, which would add nutrients to the soil. They would then plant their crops and move on to a new patch of land after a few years.
Ancestral Puebloans, on the other hand, lived in a region of the American Southwest that was arid and had limited rainfall. They were able to farm without extensive irrigation systems by using a technique called dry farming. This method involved planting crops in shallow soil depressions called basins, which trapped rainfall and allowed the plants to utilize the moisture over an extended period.
While both Mississippians and Ancestral Puebloans were able to farm without extensive irrigation, their techniques were specific to their regions and adapted to the environmental conditions they faced.