The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde
Whole villages built beneath overhanging rock
See it on the timeline →In depth
Mesa Verde is a high plateau in Colorado where steep canyon walls hold large natural alcoves beneath overhanging rock. The move up into the cliffs is usually read as defensive, and it coincides with signs of rising violence in the region. Tree rings give an unusually precise chronology: the great drought from 1276 to 1299 is dated year by year, and it coincides with the area emptying. The descendants live in the Hopi and Zuni communities and in the Rio Grande pueblos, which still regard Mesa Verde as an ancestral place rather than a ruin.
For children
People moved from open villages into great alcoves in the cliff faces and built dense towns there, with towers and round ceremonial rooms. After only a hundred years they left again, in the middle of a long drought.
Sources
This event has no source references yet. Do you know where it is well attested — a book, an article, a reference work? We would very much like to hear from you.
Help us with sourcesReport a correction
Found something that does not hold? Tell us — sources help, but are not required.
Report a correctionPart of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org ·