In northern New Mexico, many American Indians from the west and north moved toward permanent water sources during a drought period in the late 1200s. With their allies in existing communities along the Rio Grande, they formed new and larger pueblos. Kuaua, Tiwa for "evergreen," was one of the numerous agricultural communities that developed along the Rio Grande at about AD 1300. The well-watered land near the Rio Grande provided excellent opportunities to produce the food needed to feed an ever-growing population, and these people flourished in their new environment. Built from earth on site, the pueblo grew as rooms were added until the early 1500s. More than 1500 rooms were constructed before the community was ultimately abandoned as the fluorescence of this culture waned and introduced disease took its toll.