Day 7: Mesa Verde National Park by Charlotte

 Starting off day number seven with a little extra sleep this morning as our tour at the ancient Cliff Dwellings in the Mesa Verde National Park didn’t start until two in the afternoon. We were very fortunate that we actually got to stay at the same hotel two nights in a row in Durango, Colorado. 

A little history about how the dwellings got there is that they were built by Ancestral Puebloans, rather than the Navajo. Navajo refers to a base term of “Ancient Enemy”, their tribe wishes now to be called “Ancestral Pueblo” or “Ancestral Puebloans” as they are choosing to honor their families in a more respectful manner. We know that the Puebloans started on top of the Mesas but hardy, strenuous climates pushed them further into the center of valleys hand excavating villages. Tree ring dating or “Dendrochronology” indicates that construction and refurbishing of Cliff Palace was continuous approximately from 1190 CE through 1260 CE, although the major portion of the building was done within a 20-year time span. Over time the story has changed many times, but research and studies show that a series of mega droughts over a period of years may have been the primary reason of migration of the Puebloans. It cannot be ruled down to a single cause as to why they left, but other reasons could have been as simple as your best fire maker left, or some of your direct family has passed, you don’t have many ties leaving you left to the community or even you got married and you are moving with your spouse. We do know the move was not done all at once and they did not just disappear as many may say. See the Puebloans were big traders, we can tell this because of evidence found of Mesa Verde pottery that was handmade from the tribe was found in other places across the four corner states with corn, a crop not farmed by the Pueblos but found in many places across the dwellings and Kivas of many villages. 

  

 

Kivas are circular built dwellings that were used to hold each family in the village or even as a sacred place of ceremonies. Kivas are now largely used as a ceremonial place as most of the Pueblos live in traditional houses now. The Cliff Palace at the Mesa Verde National Park is the biggest cliff dwelling in North America, but the park is also home to more than five thousand archaeological sites. Our tour guide Carolyn was wonderful answering every single question our group had about these special structures. 

Unfortunately, over the years the plates in the earth have shifted and are slowly starting to push Cliff Palace out of the cavern, in recovery efforts the park is trying their best to save the structures with some wooden frames or even some minor reconstruction so that they can continue tours to educate the public. The tour was very challenging as we had to climb down uneven sandstone stairs and wooden park service ladders some being 10 feet tall. I can say this was definitely a once in a lifetime experience and I highly recommend if you ever get the chance to visit these dwellings or the park itself so plan an entire day, as there’s so much to see and explore. Most importantly drink lots of water.