Final answer:
The Caddo Tribe adapted and thrived through agricultural innovations and establishing extensive trade networks, building settled communities around large earthen mounds within the Mississippi River valley.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Caddo Tribe adapted and survived primarily through Agricultural innovations and trade. Rather than adopting a nomadic lifestyle, the Caddoans became skilled farmers, cultivating a variety of crops including maize, which was a major factor in the cultural shift of the Mississippian tradition. They also built settled agricultural communities, marked by the construction of sizable earthen mounds, which formed the centers of large and complex settlements that facilitated extensive trading networks.
Through agriculture and trade, they were able to sustain larger populations and develop specialized occupations. These advancements allowed the Caddo tribe to establish large settlements along the Mississippi River valley and beyond, with evidence of far-reaching trade networks visible through artifacts found hundreds of miles from their origin. Cultural practices, such as adopting beneficial innovations from neighboring tribes, also played a role in their adaptation.