Urbanism in some form had reached almost every corner of the pre-contact United States. Everywhere one would look would be polities, towns, and cities engaged in trade, conflict, and confederations. I talk about Mississippian Culture frequently, let's look at the rest of the US.

The Northeast: Here, confederacies engaged in highly developed politics ruled throughout the region.The Iroquois maintained fortified cities of several thousand people.The Iroquois were not alone among the polities, they are well known for they were the dominant group at contact.

The Great Plains: The urban towns of the bison-hunting farmers controlled vast amounts of prairie and forest. I've seen population estimates for some pre-contact Plains towns in the thousands. These people were masterful bison hunters who supplemented their diet with agriculture.

The Southwest: The Pueblo people made incredible advancements in engineering, astronomy, and agriculture. They lived in elaborate and sometimes massive pueblos.Several of these could have been home to thousands.The very first conquistadors to region likened it to "another Arabia"

The Northwest: These complex societies had found ways to support large populations without agriculture. Fishing was their primary strategy, supplementing it with hunting and trading.Thousands of people lived in these settlements,comprised of colorful structures of monumental size

These urban centers utilized many distinct strategies, creating an incredibly diverse continent. To the north were the magnificent cultures of the Inuit and Cree,to the south were the kingdoms and empires of Mesoamerica. It boggles my mind America at contact is seen as wilderness

that was ready to be colonized, with a few natives living in camps and small villages. It was an incredibly diverse landscape, comparable in size and complexity to medieval Europe. They had clean and sustainable urban centers, and should be remembered and taught about in schools.

Anyone interested in Mississippian urbanism can learn a bit more on my post about Cahokia, the Mississippian metropolis along the Mississippi River. https://twitter.com/rwarchaeology/status/1296835653884358656