The Hopi are a Native American tribe whose settlements are primarily located in northeastern Arizona. While their history is uncertain, it is thought that the Hopi emerged from the Ancestral Puebloan culture, an ancient Native American culture of settled farmers who lived in the Four Corners region of the United States. Like the Ancestral Puebloans, the Hopi lived in dense villages characterized by apartment-house dwellings, complex social structures, and elaborate religious ceremonies. Hopi communities were self-governing and autonomous, creating a culture characterized by fierce independence. Hopi culture also emphasized matrilineal descent, the tracing of kinship relations and property through the female line. Traditional Hopi communities often consisted of dozens of matrilineal clans, and the tribe’s members continue to identify themselves by local loyalties to their clans and villages.