Mesa Verde

 The Mesa Verde National Park, located in the south western slope of Colorado near Grand Junction, was created in 1906 and is said to be the largest archeological site in the United States as well as one of the largest in the world. 

Beginning around 1000 C.E, the Ancestral Puebloan peoples built and created over 600 structures into the cliff faces as Mesa Verde. These structures were built using natural materials such as stone, mortar, plaster and mud. The completed structures were mainly used as homes and residences but there were also cases of these structures being used for storage or for ritual purposes. 


Kiva "Spruce Tree House" located at Mesa Verde

One of the largest and most famous cave dwelling located in Mesa Verde is the Cliff Palace. The Cliff Palace is so large it is said to contain over 120 individual rooms as well as 20+ larger circular rooms. These buildings ranged from 1-4 stories tall and some of them even reached the ceiling of the rocks containing them. Due to its location deep into the rock face, the Cliff Palace remained well protected from the elements and has actually been greatly preserved. 

In order to effectively build this structure, the Ancestral Puebloans had to use stone and mud mortar, along with wooden beam supports adapted to the cliff face. This type of archeology was evolutionary compared to the traditional adobe style these people had practiced.(Which required constant touch-ups and repairs) These stone and mortar buildings, along with the decorative elements and objects found inside the structure are said to provide a deeper insight into the Ancestral Puebloans lifestyle. 

The Cliff Palace located in Mesa Verde (450-1300 C.E)



Cite this page as: Dr. Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, "Mesa Verde," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed November 16, 2020, https://smarthistory.org/mesa-verde-cliff-dwellings/.






Comments

  1. Jake, of "Jake Writes a Blog"November 16, 2020 at 3:49 PM

    Jeremy,
    Great blog post. Have you ever personally visited this site? They're so fascinating to behold in person. It's honestly incredible that we still have sites like this one to visit and experience, especially right here in Colorado! I always am reminded of these homes when I drive by the adobe homes that are located throughout Pueblo West specifically. I always find it interesting to see this style on the outside of homes while the insides are, obviously, so modern. Wouldn't these people be so confused! Overall, great post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Justin DwinellNovember 18, 2020 at 11:46 AM

    Hello Jeremy,

    I was wondering if anyone was going to do a post on Mesa Verde and I am sure glad you did. It is so cool that you found something that we can learn about that is in our back yard. It is crazy to me that these structures have lasted this long just from being made from sand, stone, mortar and mud. I knew a little bit about mesa Verde but after reading your post I definitely feel that I learned a lot more about this historic site. Do you think there will ever be a natural disaster that will tear this site apart or do you think it will live forever?

    ReplyDelete
  3. ChloNovember 28, 2020 at 3:36 PM

    Since we live so close to this one, I have always wanted to go see it. It was one of my grandmothers favorite places to be. I have never researched anything about it, but you described it perfectly like my grandma. Great job!

    ReplyDelete

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