<P> The late Woodland period was a time of apparent population dispersal , although populations do not appear to have decreased . In most areas construction of burial mounds decreased drastically , as well as long - distance trade in exotic materials . At the same time , bow and arrow technology gradually overtook the use of the spear and atlatl , and agricultural production of the `` Three Sisters '' ( maize , beans , and squash ) was introduced . While full scale intensive agriculture did not begin until the following Mississippian period , the beginning of serious cultivation greatly supplemented the gathering of plants . </P>
<P> The late Woodland period was a time of apparent population dispersal , although populations do not appear to have decreased . In most areas construction of burial mounds decreased drastically , as well as long - distance trade in exotic materials . At the same time , bow and arrow technology gradually overtook the use of the spear and atlatl , and agricultural production of the `` Three Sisters '' ( maize , beans , and squash ) was introduced . While full scale intensive agriculture did not begin until the following Mississippian period , the beginning of serious cultivation greatly supplemented the gathering of plants . </P>
when did archaic hunter-gatherers of the eastern woodlands begin to develop agriculture
when did archaic hunter-gatherers of the eastern woodlands begin to develop agriculture
late Woodland period
late Woodland period