The Basketmaker periods refer to a period of time in the prehistory of the American Southwest, lasting from roughly 1500 BC to AD 500. During this time, the inhabitants of the region developed sophisticated basket-making techniques and began to cultivate crops such as corn, beans, and squash.
From Wikipedia
The Basketmaker culture of the pre-Ancestral Puebloans began about 1500 BCE and continued until about 750 CE with the beginning of the Pueblo I Era. This prehistoric culture of Oasisamerica was named "Basketmaker" for the large number of baskets found at archaeological sites of 3,000 to 2,000 years ago.