Final answer:
Artifacts suggest interdependence among American cultures through shared architecture, cultural practices, trade, and developed calendar systems. Casas Grandes and other civilizations show Mesoamerican influence, indicating a cultural bond over time and distance.
Step-by-step explanation:
The key features of the civilizations' artifacts that suggest interdependence among cultures in the Americas include the presence of similar architectural structures like pyramids and temples, shared cultural practices such as the ritual ballgame, maize cultivation, and religious deities tied to natural forces. Evidence of intercultural influences is also present in the widespread trade of materials such as obsidian, jade, and cacao beans, which indicates that these societies were interconnected by trade routes. The continuation of these cultural trademarks over millennia, such as the development of sophisticated systems of writing and calendar systems, reveals that there was significant cultural transmission between Mesoamerican civilizations like the Olmec and the Aztec.
For instance, Casas Grandes, located far north of traditional Mesoamerica, shows Mesoamerican influence in its architecture and material culture, suggesting intercultural contact. Additionally, the fact that the Americas were characterized by hierarchically structured societies, with a priestly class and complex political systems, further illustrates the interconnectedness of these civilizations, despite their dispersed geographical locations.