Mesa Verde National Park

The pre-Columbian cliff dwellings and other works of the Anasazi Indians are among the most notable and best preserved in the United States. This is also the only National Park in the U.S. dedicated to the works of men.

Geology

Some 90 million years ago - before the Colorado Plateau or the Rocky Mountains had been lifted far above sea level - this land was underwater. As the sea floor subsided, 2,000 ft of mud and sand were deposited. Upon hardening, this mud became Mancos Shale. As the sea that deposited the Mancos retreated to the northeast, sandy beaches were continuously deposited along the shoreline. About 75 million years ago, 250 ft of sand accumulated. Several erosional processes act on this sandstone to form the cave like "alcoves" in which the cliff dwellings were built, but the most common way involved water percolating through the sandstone and dissolving the bonding material (calcium carbonate) which holds the grains of sand together. Notice that the cliffs are actually composed of two layers of sandstone, separated by a thin layer of shale, which is impervious to water. In spring, when the winter snow melted, water percolated down through the upper layer of sandstone until it reached the shale layer. Then, the water slowly flowed underground along the surface of the shale, until it reached a canyon wall where it emerged in a seep, or less commonly, a spring. In addition, frost wedging (expansion of water as it freezes in cracks) played a major role in the formation of the alcoves.

The canyons in Mesa Verde began to be formed 2-3 million years ago when the entire region was uplifted. Streams began active down-cutting. The canyon bottoms today are apparently no deeper than they were during Anasazi occupation. The soil in the canyon bottoms is poor, mostly sand and clay. Therefore, little farming was done in the canyon bottoms, although materials for pottery and building construction were probably gathered there.

The soil on the mesa tops is a dark orange-red, a windblown soil known as "loess." The prevailing winds are from the south, so Mesa Verde accumulates the topsoil of New Mexico and Arizona. The soil is excellent for agriculture, often being from 3 to 17 feet thick.

The Anasazi Indians

Two Thousand years ago, Indians were farming along the banks of the Rio Grande south of present-day Albuquerque, New Mexico. Using techniques that had spread north from Mexico and Central America, the Rio Grande Indians farmed corn, beans, and squash. made baskets, and lived in primitive shelters along the river's shores. So fertile was this land and so successful were these early farmers that scientists believe the area actually experienced overcrowding.

Eventually, some of the Indians left the river area. By AD 550, splinter groups had begun to build pithouses and established small communities on both sides of the Rio Grande, and others had begun to move north toward the Four Corners area.

Although anthropologists refer also to the early Rio Grande civilizations as Anasazi (Basketmaker period, AD 1-750), the term is most often used to describe the Indians who thrived in the Four Corners area from about AD 800-1300. The Anasazi (actually a Navajo word probably best translated as "Enemies of our Ancestors") were a peaceful people - farmers and potters, and highly religious. Their huge adobe and stone pueblos are thought today to have been culture and trade centers, and evidence suggests they traded with Indians as far west as the Pacific Ocean and as far south as what is now southern Mexico. Their pueblos, three- and four-story apartment-style buildings - both built into cliffs and freestanding - often contains up to 400 rooms, some of which were used to store grain. Also characteristic of the pueblos were kivas, ceremonial meeting places, built partially underground and round - symbolic of the Womb of Mother Earth. The largest of these Anasazi "cities" exist in ruins at Chaco Canyon National Historic Park and Mesa Verde National Park.

The first evidence of Indian occupation of the Mesa Verde plateau is from the Modified Basketmaker period (AD 550-750). Ruins of their pit houses, as well as their baskets and primitive pottery, have been found in the area. During the Developmental Pueblo Period (AD 750-1100 the Anasazi began to reach their full stride. Pit houses had been replaced by communal dwellings, water management systems were developed, and the classic black-on-white Anasazi pottery was being produced. It wasn't until the middle of the Great Pueblo Period (AD 1100-1300) that the Indians began moving into the alcoves formed by the overhanging cliffs. After living on mesas and in river valleys for some 1200 years, the Indians suddenly and inexplicably, began work on the cliff dwellings. For years the commonly held anthropological theory was that the dwellings had been built for protection from enemies. Recent research questions that, however. The Athapaskan peoples (the Navajos and Apaches) weren't to arrive in the area for several hundred years and the Utes still later. The Anasazi don't seem to have any enemies. It could be, too, that they moved into the alcoves to more easily control the temperature of their dwellings. For whatever reason the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde were built, by the middle of the 13th century, they were home to 5,000 people.

And then they left.

Just like that, they hit the road. And just as anthropologists debate the reasons for the dwelling's construction, so do they debate the reasons for their abandonment. Current consensus seems to be, however, that the Indians simply overfarmed their land and had to seek arable land elsewhere. This, combined with the problems that typically strike a city - overcrowding, disease, unrest, hostilities - most likely lead to Mesa Verde's downfall; the civilization simply grew up and passed on.

As the Anasazi abandoned their large communities, they dispersed, living in small groups and ending up in different parts of the Southwest. Most likely the pueblo people living in northern New Mexico and Arizona - the Hopi, Zuni, Taos, Acoma, and others - are descendants of the Indians who once lived at Mesa Verde.

Historical Background

The first whites to see the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde were probably members of an 1874 U.S. Geological Survey party. Among them was photographer William Henry Jackson, who took the first photos of the ruins. Six years later, New York journalist Virginia Donaghe McClurg explored the mesa, discovering still more ruins, among them one she called "Brownstone Face," which is today known as Balcony House.

The mesa's main ruins were discovered quite by accident , however. On December 18, 1888, Mancos Valley ranchers Richard Wetherhill and Charlie Mason were riding across the mesa in search of stray cattle. As they peered over a canyon rim, they were shocked to see the ruins of Cliff Palace - several stories high with 200 rooms and 23 kivas. They scrambled down into the canyon and explored the ruin, taking with them bits of pottery and other artifacts, then returned to the top of the mesa, where they split up to look for more ruins. Wetherhill soon discovered Spruce Tree House near where the museum now stands. The next day they stumbled upon Square Tower House.

Wetherhill would eventually become so fascinated with the Mesa Verde ruins that he would devote his life to them. He and his family collected thousands of artifacts, most of which they sold to the Colorado State Historical Society and the C.D. Hazard and Jay Smith Exploring Company, which displayed them at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.

By the turn of the century, Mesa Verde was being deluged with treasure hunters, and the ruins were in danger of being destroyed. In June 1906, Theodore Roosevelt signed a bill creating Mesa Verde National Park.

Driving Tour

Park Point is the highest elevation on the Mesa at 8571 ft. During the summer, a fire lookout tower is in operation. The point offers a 360 degree view of four states: Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico.

Far View Visitor Center has displays, information and publication about the park and the Anasazi Indians.

Museum Loop and Spruce Tree Ruins

Modified Basketmaker Pithouse (circa AD 575) The pithouse is the earliest known permanent dwelling in Mesa Verde. A shallow pit was dug and four wooden posts were erected which acted as roof beam supports. Roofs were constructed of poles, brush and earth or mud. Entrance to the pithouse was through a central opening in the roof usually located above the firepit. The pithouse usually contained two rooms, the larger a living area and the smaller used for storage and ventilation.

Navajo Canyon, 700 ft deep, contains 60 cliff dwellings and is 15 miles long. Directly across the canyon is Echo House containing 20 roms and 2 kivas. A smaller cliff dwelling is in the alcove directly below it. If you look closely to the right, an ancient tower, "Navajo Watch Tower", sits atop a giant boulder.

Square Tower House(circa AD 1200-1300) is called the "most Photogenic" dwelling in the park. It originally contained about 80 rooms, but now only 60 rooms and 7 kivas can be seen. Two kivas retain portions of their original roofs. These were used as models for the rebuilt kiva roofs in Spruce Tree House. The four-story tower was originally part of a multistory building unit. Original plaster can be seen on some of the walls.

Pithouse (circa AD 675) This large two-room structure is actually the remains of two pithouses. The larger room is the original pithouse which was destroyed by a fire of unknown cause. The smaller room is a second pithouse which was constructed afterwards. This is the first time that a vertical ventilator shaft appears and it is found in all subterranean structures from this time on.

Pueblo House (circa AD 850) A major change took place in the architecture at this time; houses became surface dwellings with adjoining roms which formed an arc or crescent shaped village. Lower walls were lined with rock slabs; upright poles supported an interwoven lattice of smaller sticks and branches covered with mud, a technique called "wattle and daub," or "jacal," in the Southwest. Small fire pits are in several of the rooms. Two deep square pit rooms were also in use at this time. They share many characteristics of the pithouse and both contained ventilator shafts.

Pueblo Village (circa AD 950) Only 3 rooms remain of this village, but the wall construction has undergone a significant change. Crude stone masonry using unshaped rocks and large amount of mortar had begun. Dwellings are completely above the surface of the ground and the underground room has become a ceremonial chamber, the kiva. These early kivas are characterized by stone pillars which supported timbers that formed the roof. A circular bench, central fire pit and southern ventilator shaft also became fixtures of the kiva.

Three Village Site is the most complex on the loop because three villages were built here during different time periods. The first village (Pueblo I) was built about AD 900 of Jacal (post and mud) construction. It was "L" shaped and had burned to the ground, so the only traces remaining of this village are the charred posts and the deep earthen kiva to the south of the site.

About AD 1000 the second village, of Pueblo II construction, was built over the remains of the first village. It has walls of single-coursed masonry and its kiva has stone faced walls and stone pilasters. This was a small village with three attached rooms and a separate room to the left of the others. It was only occupied for a short time; then it was either abandoned or its stones were scavenged to build the third village.

From pottery shards and one tree ring date, the third village can be dated to AD 1074. It has typical Pueblo III double-coursed masonry walls which are very thick and can support a multi-storied structure. The circular room above the two earlier kivas is a tower. This village seems to have contained three towers, a large, walled enclosure and the largest and deepest kiva on the entire site. The Pueblo III kiva is particularly interesting because it is orientated due north-south and the small depressions in the floor give evidence of the use of vertical looms for weaving and possibly a foot drum.

Sun Point Pueblo (circa AD 1200) represents the Classic Period of Mesa Verde culture. It is believed to have been a village of 30 rooms. Notice that the kiva occupies the central plaza area of the village and is connected to the tower by a short tunnel. When archaeologists excavated the site, they found only foundation stones. One theory is that the stones and timbers were taken below to construct the cliff dwellings.

Sun Point Overlook gives a magnificent view of the canyons and 12 major dwellings, including Sun Temple and Cliff Palace.

Oak Tree House (circa AD 1180-1300) contains 50 rooms and 6 kivas. It is a classic cliff dwelling with fine stonework.

Fire Temple and New Fire House (circa AD 1200-1300) Notice the oblong dance plaza and square fire pit of Fire Temple. Originally, the rear wall of the plaza was covered with light colored plaster and painted with human, animal and geometric figures. These have been faded by exposure to the sunlight. New Fire House shows a hand and toe hold trail connecting the two levels of the dwellings, still clearly visible today.

Sun Temple (circa AD 1200) seems to have been one of the last buildings constructed at Mesa Verde. It was never completed; construction halted in AD 1276 with walls approximately 12-15 ft high. Each stone in the walls was shaped and has a dimpled surface. Unusual features of Sun Temple include the symmetrical "D" shape, long rooms and corridors along the periphery, Chacoan style kivas and a possible "solstice marker" at the southwest corner of the building. From this point these are excellent views of two canyons and Cliff Palace.