This diverse landscape has long attracted many kinds of inhabitants. Mammoths and mastodons once roamed here, and prairie birds such as the marbled godwit and chestnut collared longspur also lived in the area. People have inhabited this region for 12 centuries. Archaeological evidence shows that during Paleo-Indian times, from 12,000 to 10,000 years ago, small groups passed through the region as highly mobile hunters using spears to hunt big game. During the Archaic period, from 10,000 to 3,000 years ago, less nomadic groups frequented the region as the largest animals began to disappear; they stayed long enough each year to cultivate crops and used heavier tools, including stones for grinding food. The Woodland and Mississippian era began 3,000 years ago and lasted until roughly 1400 AD, when people gathered in larger social groups, used pottery, and traded with other groups. Archaeological records suggest that from 1050 through 1250 AD, an extremely well-organized community lived here. From 1450 through 1600 AD, the archaeological record shows a gap, and the region may have been largely abandoned for roughly 150 years. During the 1600s, Native Americans returned, followed by early European explorers and the construction of trading posts. In 1803, this land became part of the Louisiana Purchase, and in 1849 the Minnesota Territory was created. Early settlers arrived, harvested timber, and converted prairie to cropland. Minnesota became a state in 1858, and significant changes quickly followed. Even so, this geographically diverse landscape still supports a wide range of wildlife as part of the Mississippi Flyway, a key migration corridor for ducks, geese, swans, and songbirds, along with deer, turkey, eagles, owls, monarch butterflies, pileated woodpeckers, and rare wood turtles.