Ancestral Pueblo move to Mesa Verde cliffs

1175

Across the Four Corners region of the American Southwest, Puebloan communities began abandoning open-plan mesa-top settlements and reoccupying defensible alcoves in the cliffs. The shift reflected both climate stress and intensified raiding. The cliff palaces of Mesa Verde emerged in this century. Some of the largest alcoves sheltered entire communities, with multi-story masonry rooms, circular kivas, and storage granaries tucked beneath overhanging sandstone ledges.