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- Pueblo peoples
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Cliff dwelling
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What is a cliff dwelling?
Cliff dwellings are structures built along the sides or under the overhangs of cliffs, mainly in the Four Corners area of the southwestern United States. These dwellings are associated with the Ancestral Puebloans during the Pueblo III period (approximately 1150β1300 CE).
Initially, the Ancestral Puebloans were nomadic foragers. They transitioned to a sedentary lifestyle, cultivating corn and constructing circular pits for storage. These pits evolved into stone-walled structures with roofs, some of which were used as homes. As farming techniques improved, they established permanent communities and began building houses above ground.
Around 1150, the Ancestral Puebloans began constructing cliff dwellings, possibly for defense. These dwellings utilized hand-hewn stone building blocks and adobe mortar. Buildings were often multistoried, with each level set back to create terraces. Each community had kivas, or ceremonial rooms.
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Who built cliff dwellings?
The Ancestral Puebloans built cliff dwellings in the present-day Four Corners area of the United States, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet. These dwellings, constructed primarily during the Pueblo III period (approximately 1150β1300 CE), represent the culmination of architectural developments, featuring hand-hewn stone building blocks and adobe mortar.
These communities chose to build cliff dwellings around 1150, possibly for defense against ancestral Navajo and Apache groups. The absence of ground-level doors and windows, along with easily removable ladders, provided added security. However, by the end of the 13th century, the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned these dwellings, likely due to a severe drought between 1276 and 1299 that led to crop failures and water shortages.
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Why did ancient people build their homes in cliffs?
Ancestral Puebloans, also known as Anasazi, constructed cliff dwellings in the present-day Four Corners area of the United States from approximately 1150β1300 CE. They were built along the sides or under the overhangs of cliffs.
These people shifted from mesa tops to alcoves in canyon walls to build cliff houses. The natural protection afforded by the cliffs and the solid outer stone walls without doors and windows on the ground floor provided defense against invading groups. The dwellings faced south-southwest to take advantage of the warming effect of winter sunshine.
However, by the late 13th century, a severe drought and timber depletion forced the Ancestral Pueblo to abandon the area.
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Where are famous cliff dwellings located?
Cliff dwellings, the housing of prehistoric Ancestral Puebloans, are primarily located in the Four Corners area of the southwestern United States, where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet.
Famous locations include:
* Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado, which houses the Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in the park, with 217 rooms and 23 kivas.
* Canyon de Chelly National Monument in northeastern Arizona, which contains hundreds of pre-Columbian cliff dwellings.
* Navajo National Monument in northeastern Arizona, which consists of three well-preserved cliff dwellings: Betatakin, Keet Seel, and Inscription House.
* Bandelier National Monument in north-central New Mexico, an archeological area with cliff dwellings and open pueblos.6 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What materials and methods did people use to construct cliff dwellings?
The Ancestral Puebloans constructed cliff dwellings using hand-hewn stone building blocks and adobe mortar, achieving a level of craftsmanship unsurpassed even in later constructions. Ceilings were made by laying large crossbeams and a solid line of laths and then plastering them with an adobe mixture.
These dwellings, built along cliffs or under overhangs, represent the culmination of architectural developments. Residential rooms were about 10 by 20 feet, with ground-floor access via ladders through the roof. The absence of doors and windows on the ground floor provided defense, and ladders could be removed during attacks. The largest dwelling in Mesa Verde National Park, Cliff Palace, contained 217 rooms and 23 kivas and housed around 250 people.
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How do archaeologists study and protect cliff dwellings today?
Archaeologists study cliff dwellings using various methods to understand and protect these historical sites. They employ dating techniques such as dendrochronology and carbon-14 dating to determine the age of the structures and associated artifacts.
Excavation is a key aspect of archaeology, but interpretation of findings in their cultural and historical contexts is also crucial. This includes analyzing artifacts and remains based on form, material, and biological associations.
Protection involves careful excavation and preservation of the masonry dwellings, which were built by the Ancestral Puebloans, using hand-hewn stone and adobe mortar. These dwellings, like those in Mesa Verde National Park, are studied to understand the culture and lifestyle of past civilizations and to ensure their preservation for future generations.
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Cliff dwelling, housing of the prehistoric Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) people of the southwestern United States, built along the sides of or under the overhangs of cliffs, primarily in the Four Corners area, where the present states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet. These masonry dwellings are associated with the Ancestral Pueblo culture period known as Pueblo III (approximately 1150β1300 ce).
The first Ancestral Puebloans were nomadic foragers whose economy relied upon hunting and gathering wild foods. When they became sedentary and began to cultivate corn (maize), they also began to build circular pits as storage bins. Later they reinforced the bins with stone walls and covered them with roofs, and some individuals began to use the structures as homes. Once they had developed farming techniques adequate to the arid climate and were able to live completely on the corn, squash, beans, and cotton they grew, the Ancestral Puebloans established permanent communities and began to build their houses aboveground.
Cliff dwellings are the culmination of these architectural developments; the use of hand-hewn stone building blocks (the principal construction material) and adobe mortar was unsurpassed even in later buildings. Ceilings were built by laying two or more large crossbeams and placing on them a solid line of laths made of smaller branches. The layers were then plastered over with the same adobe mixture frequently used as mortar. Edifices several stories high were built with each succeeding story set back from the one below, creating a row of terraces on each level and giving the structure a stepped appearance.
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Residential rooms measured about 10 by 20 feet (3 by 6 metres). Entrance to ground-floor rooms was by ladder; people used the ladder to climb to the roof of the room and then descended into the room through an opening cut into its ceiling; rooms on upper floors could be entered by doorways from adjoining rooms and by additional roof/ceiling entrances. Each community had two or more kivas, or ceremonial rooms, usually round in early times but later square.
Although earlier Ancestral Puebloan villages were built in the open, these people began to build cliff dwellings about 1150, perhaps as a defense against invading groups of ancestral Navajo and Apache. In addition to the natural protection provided by a cliff, the absence of doors and windows to the rooms on the ground floor left a solid outer stone wall that could be surmounted only by climbing a ladder; ladders could easily be removed if the town were attacked. Many smaller communities joined together to form the large towns built beneath the cliffs. Two of the largest, the Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and the five-story Pueblo Bonito in New Mexico, probably had about 150 and 800 residential rooms, respectively.
As the 13th century ended, the Ancestral Puebloans abandoned the cliff dwellings for other sites. An examination of tree trunks from that period using dendrochronology indicates that a severe drought occurred in the region between 1276 and 1299. Often referred to as the Great Drought, this climatic event probably occasioned crop failures and shortages of drinking water, creating difficulties in provisioning the concentrated population living in the cliff dwellings.