Who were the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples?

• A. The Anasazi, also called the Basketmakers.
• B. The Apache and Navajo.
• C. The Sioux and Cheyenne.
• D. The Iroquois and Mohawk.

Answer: (A)

The ancestors of the Pueblo peoples are the Anasazi, who are also known as Basketmakers. The Anasazi lived in the Southwest long before the rise of the traditional Pueblo towns and are considered the early roots of Pueblo culture. They earned the name Basketmakers for their early woven baskets and gradually developed pottery and more complex communities, which evolved into the Pueblo civilizations that later built the famous pueblos and cliff dwellings. The other groups—Apache and Navajo, Sioux and Cheyenne, Iroquois and Mohawk—come from different regions or later migrations and are not the primary ancestral line of the Pueblo.