Mesa Verde National Park 2011

On June 29, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park to “preserve the works of man.” It was the first and is the only park of its kind. He preserved an extraordinary record of Ancestral Puebloans , who made this place their home for over 750 years. Archeologists have called these people Anasazi, from a Navajo word translated as “the ancient foreigners.”

Traveling the Mesa Top reveals the full range of ancient architecture in Mesa Verde as the Anasazi’s lived in Pithouses, Pueblos, and then Cliff Dwellings. People lived in Pithouses from about 550 AD to 750 AD. These homes featured a living room sunk a few feet in the ground and four corner posts supported the roof. The firepit had an air deflector. An antechamber might contain storage bins or pits. Many features of the Pithouses were used in building Pueblos. Pithouses involved into Kivas.

By 1000 AD the people of Mesa Verde had advanced to skillful stone masonry. These dwellings were concentrated in compact villages and had many rooms, often with the Kivas built inside the enclosing walls rather than out in the open. The stone walls of the large pueblos are regarded as the finest ever built in Mesa Verde, with their straight courses and shaped stones.

Most of the cliff dwellings were built from the late 1190’s to the late 1270’s. They ranged in size from one-room houses to villages of more than 150 rooms – Cliff Palace. Ancestral Puebloans lived in the cliff dwellings for less than 100 years. By 1300 Mesa Verde was deserted. There are several theories regarding their migrations. Whatever may have happened, some of today’s Pueblo people, and maybe other tribes, are descendants of the cliff dwellers of Mesa Verde.

The movie presentation will show you the progression of the Ancestral Puebloan people of Mesa Verde. Remember to turn your speakers up and click on the full-screen icon in the lower right hand corner of the picture frame. CLICK HERE to view the movie.