Patterns of Trade Expansive trade networks tied together regions and carried valuable goods hundreds and even thousands of miles. Trade goods included food and raw materials, tools, ritual artifacts, and decorative goods. Trade enriched diets, enhanced economies, and allowed the powerful to set themselves apart with luxury items. Anasazi Ladle Crafted between AD. 1300 and 1600 and found in a site in central Arizona, this Anasazi dipper was coiled and molded by hand and painted with a geometric motif. Anasazi pottery is abundant in archaeological sites, thanks in part to the Southwest’s dry climate. Clay vessels and ladles helped Anasazi peoples handle water — one of their most precious resources — with care. National Museum of the American Indian, Smithsonian Institution.
