Final answer:
The Mississippian culture in the Southeast and the Anasazi in the Southwest were notable early agriculturalists among Native American societies, transitioning from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to establishing permanent villages based on the cultivation of crops like maize, beans, and squash.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Native American group that began to plant crops and differed from prior hunter-gatherer groups were the early agriculturalists, such as the Mississippian culture and the Anasazi of the American Southwest. The Mississippian culture, which thrived from about 500 to 1400 CE, originated in the Mississippi River Valley and introduced large-scale, corn-based agriculture that supported a dense population and allowed for specialized artisans. The Anasazi, known as the Ancestral Pueblo tradition, began to establish permanent villages around 500 BCE, with their society supported by the farming of crops like maize, beans, and squash.
These early agriculturalists transformed their cultures by settling in permanent villages and developing methods to store and manage crops, which in turn fostered the growth of complex societal structures. Their cultivation of maize was particularly influential, and it eventually became common throughout various regions, even among groups that had not previously engaged in agricultural practices. This agricultural shift was a significant change in the lifestyle of Native American societies, signaling a move from largely nomadic hunter-gatherer patterns to sedentary, farm-based communities.