4700 Archeological Sites Including 600 Cliff Dwellings: Mesa Verde… National Park Series #7

/ Curt Mekemson
Normally, one would start a post on Mesa Verde featuring cliff dwellings. One of my earliest thoughts as a child about these magnificent structures, however, was how the inhabitants managed to get up to their homes perched high up on cliffs. This 22 foot bronze cast statue by Edward J. Fraughton at Mesa Verde dramatically illustrates the challenge. I couldn’t resist featuring it. Note the footholds, or maybe I should say, toeholds.
Split level living at its best? It is thought that the Fire Temple complex at Mesa Verde was used for ceremonial purposes and possibly as living quarters for those who oversaw the ceremonies. It features these structures located on two different levels plus a large open area for ceremonies and meetings off to the left. The toe holds for climbing are clearly visible. Ladders that could have been raised or lowered would have extended below the toeholds: Lowered to get up to the second level under normal circumstances— or raised to frustrate an enemy if under attack.
Photos of Mesa Verde Park by Curt and Peggy Mekemson.
A close up of the toeholds. We wondered if the indentations on the right were used for handholds. Getting up or down would have been complicated by having to carry a load such as shown below when looking at the Ancient One’s statue from a different perspective.
“Could you hold that pose while I finish the statue?” It looks like maize/corn in the basket, which was the primary crop of the Ancestral Puebloans. Other things that would have to be carried in addition to food would include water, babies, building materials and items for day to day living. I suspect that children learned to scramble up and down at a relatively young age.
Peggy and I found these footholds climbing up a cliff in Zion National Park when we were searching for petroglyphs in a remote area. I thought I’d try climbing them. “Um, maybe not,” my companion suggested rather forcefully. I don’t think my offering to carry her would have made a difference.
This is the meeting/ritualistic section of the Fire Temple. A large, raised fire pit is located in the center of the plaza. There is some speculation that the square vaults beside the fire pit may have been covered and used for drumming. I can imagine the people gathered here asking for rain, good crops, health, or protection from a marauding enemy. Or maybe they danced.

Ancestral Puebloans reached the Mesa Verde (“green table”) area sometime around 600 CE (A.D.). They would remain in the area for 700 years reaching the peak of their civilization between 1100-1300 CE. At first, they focused on building pithouses, pueblos, masonry towers, and farming structures on top of the mesa. The National Park Service features a number of the buildings. While we visited several of them, our focus today will be on the cliff houses for which Mesa Verde is famous. But first, a quick look at the countryside where the Puebloans chose to make their homes.

This prominent landmark overlooks visitors as they enter the park. The road works its way up from the lower left. It’s likely that the Ancestral Puebloans would have considered the mesa sacred.
Mesa Verde translates as “green table.”
A drive up to Park Point, the highest point in Mesa Verde at 8572 feet (2612 m), provides great views of surrounding valleys and distant mountains.
Layered sandstone rocks like these provided sites for cliff houses. The distant mountain is known as Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Photos of cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park by Curt and Peggy Mekemson.
And now for three of the major cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde. This one, called Cliff Palace, is the largest cliff dwelling in North America. It has 150 individual rooms and 20 kivas. Kivas are round structures used for ceremonial purposes.
This illustration of a kiva was on an information board at Mesa Verde. Most of it is self-explanatory, but you might find yourself asking, “What the heck is a Sipapu?” To the Ancestral Puebloans and their modern day descendants, the sipapu represents the opening through which their ancient ancestors emerged to enter this world as lizards and then changed into their human form.
The Hopi believe that the entrance to this world was found on the Little Colorado River a few miles above where this photo was taken. We had stopped here when we were on our 18 day raft trip down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. I’ll be reposting blogs from that trip in a few weeks as Peggy and I are boating down the Danube River from Vienna to Budapest.
Our friend Don Green, who was with us on the Colorado River adventure, found this fellow watching us from a ledge when we stopped off at the Little Colorado. Hmm.
A closer look at the Cliff Palace.
The Square Tower House, built in the mid 1200s CE, is the tallest structure in Mesa Verde. Standing at 27 feet (8 m), it is four stories high. Painted murals and petroglyphs are said to be located throughout the structure.
Peggy and I have spent many happy hours searching for petroglyphs throughout the West and would have loved to have seen what was in the Square Tower. This might provide a clue. It is a replica of a big horn sheep petroglyph found at Mesa Verde’s Petroglyph Point. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the time for the 2 1/2 mile hike out to the point.
This is a National Park Service photo of the petroglyphs found on Petroglyph Point. The sheep is upper center. To the right of it is a turkey and to the right of that, hands. Beneath it are women giving birth. All of these are common themes of petroglyphs throughout the West. I think the cat-looking creature on the far left is a mountain lion. I found it rather humorous. Are its front legs on backwards or is it eating a person? It may be that the animals in the panel represent various clans.
Photos of Square House at Mesa Verde by Curt and Peggy Mekemson
Several other structures were located at the Square House cliff dwelling. Was the rock here originally and the Puebloans built around it? Or did Nature add it later?
Photo of Square House Cliff Dwelling by Curt and Peggy Mekemson.
Another large rock was located at the Square House cliff dwelling in the kiva on the right. The same question about how it got there applies.
This photo of the Square House cliff dwelling shows how shallow the dwelling was, and how it might be vulnerable to rock fall. Only the Square House seems totally protected.
And finally, we come to the Spruce House Dwelling, which is located a short walk away from the Visitors’ Center. It is the third largest cliff dwelling found at Mesa Verde. Built between 1211 and 1278 CE, the dwelling holds 130 rooms and 8 kivas.
Another perspective. It was first discovered by pioneers in 1888 when a pair of cowboys found it while they were searching for lost cattle. They climbed down what they thought was a large spruce tree to get in. Thus the name. (It was actually a Douglas fir that is now cut down.) I wonder if they took off their spurs? Below are three photos of the buildings at Spruce House.

Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park in 1906 to “preserve the works of man.” It was the first park of its kind designed to protect and maintain an important historical and cultural treasure. Located in Southwestern Colorado, the park covers an area of 52,485 acres.

Our next post will take you to visit another national park of great natural beauty and relatively few visitors, Big Bend. It is located in southwestern Texas far from any major metropolitan areas.

Join us as we explore its desert beauty, starting Friday.

27 thoughts on “4700 Archeological Sites Including 600 Cliff Dwellings: Mesa Verde… National Park Series #7”

  1. Sipapu seemed familiar; I finally remembered that it’s the name of a ski resort between Santa Fe and Taos. I wonder what the Puebloans would think of that. It might be that they’d prefer their cliff dwellings, although I’m sure the technology behind the ski lifts would be of interest to them.

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    • They might have loved the chairlift up to their dwellings, Linda, as long they could figure out how to keep their enemies from using it. A hand cranked elevator might have been a boon as well.

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  2. The scenery alone is extraordinary, but imagining the life led by the people here is also a mental adventure. I, too, would be very eager to climb and explore the insides of these dwellings to look for art. I would offer to carry Peggy too, ha ha!! Can’t believe she shot down your idea. I am also fascinated by the theories of why such established communities left the area, and also intrigued by the major role played by the turkey in their lives. On my drive between Show Low and Tucson last spring, I stopped at a museum in a small town where they had a Kiva (maybe a re-creation?) that they allowed people to climb inside via a ladder through a hole in the ceiling. I was glad for that experience to apply it to the information you gave here, to help me understand.

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    • In ways, it is hard to imagine their lives, Crystal, especially whey you consider belief systems. That said, they were human and had to face the same issues we do like being born, growing up, finding a partner, having babies, raising children, death, etc. And they were farmers so they would have had farmer worries. I think the most plausible reason for their leaving was a prolonged draught possibly combined with invasions. Then there is disease, epidemics. But ultimately, who knows. I wonder if their petroglyphs and murals changed leading up to their departure?
      I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if you were able to see an actual kiva. They are certainly found throughout the South West.
      We have often seen turkeys included in petroglyphs. I’ve read that it was a clan name among the Hopi, Zuni, etc. Also that turkey, like eagle feathers, were important in rituals. Then there was turkey… The ledgend of the Indians bringing turkey to dinner with the pilgrims… 😄

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  3. It’s great to see these places again through your photos. One advantage of being older than dirt is that way back when we were able to walk into the Cliff Palace and look down into a Kiva. Is that even possible now?

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    • Actually yes, Ray. The park still takes people on tours of the Cliff Palace and the Balcony House. The used to offer tours of the Spruce House as well but dangerous structural concerns have forced them to suspend trips there. We, unfortunately, were on a very tight schedule. I’d love to tour some of the dwellings.

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      • Thanks Curt. I remembered that one site was closed in the last few years but got it mixed up with Cliff Palace. Another factor of being older than dirt is I can’t remember which one had the intact kiva we looked into so long ago. 😊

      • One thing about all the photos we take, Ray, it helps us to remember where we have been. The journal helps even more but it only goes back 25 years.
        For example, I just jumped randomly back in time to August 26, 2003 in my journal. Here’s what I wrote:
        “It seems strange to be back writing in my journal again. It’s been so long since I touched it seems like years. Six weeks of backpacking followed by a serious case of urinary retention is a long time though. The night before last, for example, lasted at least six months.”
        Maybe I don’t want to remember everything. Grin.

  5. At first glance, I was like “get down from there this very minute, Curt” … LOL. Impressive sculpture and the heights have no end. Good thing you obeyed Peggy.. -:) (emoji crisis here, ha. not sure where they went.. ha) Wow these are outstanding photos and structures and some of them actually look miniature? Are all of these in person and a museum? Wild, just wild the intricacy. I could spend hours looking at the petroglyphs too but my pictures wouldn’t do justice to the site! Loved it!

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    • We actually take all of our blog photos, Cindy, unless otherwise noted, like the kiva illustration in this post and the shot of Petroglyph Point. Miniature was simply farther away or not using our telephotos.
      Oh my, Cindy, you with our emojis is like the oceans without sand! 😳🤪😵‍💫
      Peggy can get a little excitable about my behavior. LOL Keeps her sharp.

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  9. Another amazing spot on the bucket list. You did it proud. They must have been excellent builders for those structures to be so well preserved, unmaintained, all these years later.

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  10. Those structures are truly fascinating, Curt. They almost look unreal, like a toy that a child would build, fitting the pieces together. And the petroglyph is amazing, too. I wonder if the fellow watching you was friendly. 🙂 Wonderful post, as always!

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