Indian peoples occupied this area off and on for many years before a new group arrived and built the large mounds and other prehistoric features that now characterize Aztalan, a federally designated National Historic Landmark. The people who inhabited the prehistoric village of Aztalan, about A.D. 1100 to 1250, came from the major Mississippian town of Cahokia near present-day St. Louis, and Aztalan was one of Cahokia's northernmost settlements. Why they chose this location and why they later abandoned it is unclear, but it provided an important transportation route with access to Cahokia by the Crawfish, Rock, and Mississippi Rivers, as well as abundant local plant, animal, and other resources. In addition to hunting and gathering, the people grew corn, squash, sunflower, and tobacco, and they also likely traded with other resident Indian communities. This vibrant community built ceremonial and burial mounds, houses, stockades, fish weirs, garden beds, and other features, and at its height several hundred Indian people lived at Aztalan.