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Even though it had been raining off and on all morning we were not deterred, we were going to Mesa Verde National Park and we were excited about it! Mesa Verde was the first cultural park in the National Park system. It was established on June 29, 1906 by President Teddy Roosevelt to protect the remnants of the Ancestral Puebloans. That is a rather new term, previously this culture was referred to as Anasazi which is a Navajo word meaning “enemy ancestors”. Since modern day Hopi and Pueblo tribes of Arizona and New Mexico are believed to be the descendants of that culture you can see how they found the term offensive.

The Ancestral Puebloans lived in the Four Corners region and are recognized as a culture group beginning about 600 AD. Just as with other cultures, the Ancestral Puebloans changed through time; from small hunter-gatherer groups to large farming complexes. In sites throughout Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico the Ancestral Puebloans disappeared around 1290 AD. They left behind monumental architecture, stores of food, clothing and implements of daily life.

Although the cause of the mass migration is still unclear (drought, warfare and resource depletion have all been fingered) they didn’t really disappear. The Hopi and Pueblo peoples claim the Ancestral Puebloans as their own and the architecture and other cultural similarities lend credence to the claims. In fact, much of the cultural information known about the Ancestral Puebloans is based on archaeological finds and inference from these modern relatives.

Mesa Verde NP contains over 4,000 archaeological sites, 600 of which are cliff dwellings. That’s what is so amazing about this place: the people who built all these buildings! This was before the horse, and North America didn’t even have the concept of the wheel. The only domesticated animals were turkeys and dogs. I would imagine they harnessed the dog’s power at some point but obviously the turkey was no help.

Construction wasn’t limited to cliff dwellings, many structures such as houses, kivas and towers were also built on the mesa tops. The amount of rock that was quarried, shaped and mortared together is mind boggling. All of it done by hand and an impressive amount of it has survived the ravages of time. Many of the rooms we saw still had their original roofs and could be lived in. It would probably be quite comfortable, except for the lack of electricity, running water, bathroom and the really low ceilings!

Archaeologists place the average height of Ancestral Puebloan men around 5’4” with women just a touch shorter at 5’1”. That’s about the same height as people in Europe in that time period. I find that very interesting from a biological standpoint, can it be linked to diet? And if humans are continuing to reach new heights what will the limit be? Does there have to be a limit? I love thinking about stuff like that!

Back to the mesa. Even though the mesa top is over 7,000’ in elevation the valleys drop much lower. This elevation difference provided a plethora of natural resources for the inhabitants. Desert plants like yucca and prickly pear were harvested while in the upper elevations there were junipers, pinyons and Gambel oak to use not to mention all the animals. Combine those items with the corn and squash that they cultivated and you have most everything you need.

We arrived in the afternoon and only had time for one guided tour so we chose Balcony House. To protect the dwellings ranger-led tours of the three biggest cliff dwellings are offered almost every hour; Cliff Palace, Long House and Balcony House. Although it’s not the largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace is, it’s the largest in North America) it is the most strenuous tour; one 32’ ladder, a 12’ tunnel, a 60’ ascent up the rock face and two 10’ ladders!

Our ranger was feisty but very engaging and informative. She didn’t just drone on, rambling off a bunch of facts or dates. Instead she divided our group into two clans; water and corn (really the lifeblood of the community) and challenged us to understand the dwelling from that perspective. Plus, she shared some great anecdotes.

Lance’s favorite was about a small bundle with an ingenious use. Because living in a shallow cave that was created by the natural spalling off of large chunks of rock was inherently dangerous, the Ancestral Puebloans devised a warning system. They took a small stick, wrapped a large feather to it and wedged it in a crack in the roof. They did this for every crack. If the overhead rock began to slowly shift, the bundle would fall out and the people would be warned of the danger. Brilliant!

Our tour ended much too soon, we wanted to stay and learn more but there were other sites to see. We drove over to Spruce Tree House which is self-guided but there is a ranger in the dwelling at all times. Spruce Tree House is great because you can stay as long as you want (until the park closes at sunset) and a couple of the kivas were fully reconstructed! This work was done long before current National Park policy which allows for reinforcing or stabilizing but not rebuilding. We couldn’t resist the ladder leading underground, so down we went.

Since the kiva is underground and the roof is so well constructed it can be walked across and was part of the living area. Kivas are, and were, sacred places.

Certain basic elements are the same in all kivas; round in shape with a fire pit and a sipapu. The sipapu represents the people’s connection to the earth and helps to remind them how they entered this world (and it’s a really fun word to say).

It was almost sunset when we reached Far View. This collection of buildings is on the mesa top and commands extensive views, we could see four different states! These buildings were lived in at the same time as the cliff dwellings and the area was highly cultivated. The mesa is lined with check dams, small irrigation canals and even a large reservoir. Growing corn in the high desert was certainly a lot of work but it was a necessity.

At one of the ruins we saw a long row of mealing bins where women lined up, knelt with their feet against the wall and ground corn. The crushing and grinding of corn between two rocks led to small granules of rock in the meal which ultimately wore down the teeth of the Ancestral Puebloans. While the corn sustained them it also slowly killed them (no teeth = no chewing = no food).

There are so many unanswered questions about the Ancestral Puebloans and many are unanswerable. We are left to admire their architecture and handicrafts, like their stunning black on white pottery (they even made mugs, like for coffee!). As usual, we thoroughly enjoyed our day. Through the orange, red sky of a southwest sunset we drove to Farmington, New Mexico.

Photos: View the photos from our Mesa Verde day trip.

Dates: We visited Mesa Verde National Park on Tuesday, 10/03/06.