|  The Mogollon people from Central Mexico emerged in the mountain areas of Arizona and New Mexico approximately 200 BC. The culture eventually expanded to the southern rim of the Colorado Plateau. The Mogollon people were known as the mountain people.
The Mogollon were initially hunter-gatherers, but as their civilization advanced they learned to plant corn, beans, tobacco, cotton, and squash. The focus on agriculture necessitated moving from pit houses to more permanent villages. They also began to raise wild turkeys. The Mogollon were not great adapters. Changes and improvement came slowly as the centuries passed. Pottery and tools improved little, although they adopted the use of the hoe for agriculture, and houses became larger and better. The lack of adaptation may have been due to the fact that they were relatively isolated in the mountains with few natural enemies. The Anasazi culture subsumed much of the Mogollon culture around 900 AD. This led to a hybrid mix that was somewhat dominated by the Anasazi. Geometric designs on pottery began to emerge among the mixed Mogollon, as did masonry houses and below-ground ceremonial pits called kivas. The mountainous region where the Mogollon lived between 900 and 1200 AD was highly desirable. The people easily gathered beans, seeds, nuts, roots, and leaves. The soil was highly productive, and an abundance of rain was good for growing maize. Deer, antelope, and other wild game surrounded the Mogollon in the mountains. They lived a bountiful life during this period, but around 1200 AD they abandoned the mountains and moved south to Mexico. Many of the Pueblo People along the southern rim of the Colorado Plateau, as well as the Hopi, Zuni, and Acoma, were influenced by both the Mogollon and Anasazi cultures. By 1100 AD few recognizable remnants of the Mogollon culture remained. (Read about the Pueblo People and Hopi in our discussion about SW Indian People.) | 
