Interesting factoid - Mesa Verde National Park is the only national park dedicated to preserving the works of man. The Anasazi Indians lived in this area and from 500 AD to 1200 AD. They farmed the mountaintop mesas that sit high above the valley floor and lived in the naturally occurring shallow caves in the cliffs below the mesas. Beginning in 1100 AD, they started building enclosed living areas in the cliffs. Due to their protected location, these dwellings are incredibly well preserved. We toured Spruce Tree House which is the best preserved of the dwellings in the park. It was home to approximately 100 people each housed in small rooms - roughly 5x7’ - where, it is guessed, that 2-4 people slept. It is hard to imagine people living here during the harsh winters where the average annual snowfall is 144 inches. The blackened ceilings of the caves are testament to the fires that, no doubt, burned 24 hours a day during the wintertime. It is thought that the Indians abandoned the dwellings around 1200 AD due to an extended drought in the region.
As with all national parks, the visitor center here is first rate and offers a bunch of information on the dwellings and the Anasazi people. If find this sort of thing incredibly fascinating and enjoyed it thoroughly. The kids didn’t enjoy this stop as much – they couldn’t understand why they weren’t allowed to go running through all the rooms in the 1000 year old house.
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| Spruce Tree House - the indians climbed up from their houses to work the fields above. We could see rudimentary stairs carved into sides of the canyons. |
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| Grain grinding stations built into the plazas in front of the dwellings |
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| Kivas built underneath the plazas in front of the dwellings - these were covered and ventilation provided means to build a fire. These were community meeting places. |
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