Earl Morris of the Carnegie Institution led the project at Cliff Palace, which added concrete retaining walls and repaired a four-story square tower. The project marked a turning point in preservation efforts at Mesa Verde because Morris implemented a new policy of documenting all repairs so that it would be possible in the future to tell the difference between the parts of the site that were original and those that had been restored.
Many of the rooms at the site appear to have been used primarily for storage, indicating that Cliff Palace may have served as a central warehouse and distribution center for other dwellings in the area, with perhaps as few as residents of its own.
In addition, Nordby discovered a wall running through the center of the site that divided it into two parts, suggesting a social organization based on two distinct groups. The year-old Cliff Palace has a variety of structural problems that are exacerbated by frequent visitation and have required regular stabilization since the middle of the twentieth century.
Especially since World War II, when visitation to Mesa Verde National Park increased dramatically, vibrations from foot traffic have caused loose material at the site to settle. To limit the damage, park officials have kept the public away from certain parts of the site and have limited the size of tour groups. They have also performed regular maintenance to repair cracks, stabilize walls, and improve drainage for water seeping through the alcove roof.
Most recently, in a wall collapse in Kiva F led to a comprehensive investigation of structural conditions at Cliff Palace. Archaeologists found that although the northern half of the site was built on firm bedrock, the southern half sat on loose soil and debris that had fallen from the alcove ceiling. With no real foundation, the southern half of the site was slowly sliding downhill, causing cracks, falling walls, and other problems.
The conservation project closed Cliff Palace to the public in spring and fall , but daily tours were conducted as usual during the summer. It is a room cliff dwelling built by Ancestral Puebloans in the s.
It was rediscovered by ranchers in Cliff Palace is the largest and best-known cliff dwelling in Mesa Verde, as well as one of the most photographed structures on earth. Mesa Verde residents began to move from mesa tops to cliff alcoves, perhaps for greater protection. The site probably had a population of or more. It served as an administrative center for the sixty smaller cliff dwellings nearby. The Mesa Verde site housed an estimated people. Cliff Palace was built between about and Each family built its own kiva and room suite.
The site grew to include rooms and twenty-three kivas. Kivas are circular areas excavated into the ground. They were the central residential structures at Cliff Palace, and were used for residences and ritual gatherings. They could also be covered with a flat roof to make a small plaza. These courtyard complexes made up more than 75 percent of Cliff Palace.
Like the rest of the Mesa Verde region, Cliff Palace was abandoned in the final decades of the s. The Ancestral Puebloans migrated to the south and southwest. The exact reasons for the migration remain unknown. There is evidence that colder and drier weather, combined with increased conflict in the region, made it harder for residents to rely on traditional strategies for survival.
Local rancher Al Wetherill and several others claimed to have seen Cliff Palace early in the s. The men were searching for cattle with their Ute guide Acowitz when they saw the structure. They explored it and also discovered other cliff dwellings nearby.
Richard Wetherill returned to the area throughout the winter to explore and dig for artifacts. He spent the summer excavating nearly two dozen cliff dwellings in the area, including Cliff Palace. The many artifacts he removed during his excavations are now housed at the National Museum of Finland. Cliff Palace had already deteriorated in the six centuries since it had been abandoned. But the process of decay accelerated rapidly after its rediscovery. The site saw increased visitation from pothunters, amateur archaeologists, and tourists.
In response, a movement developed in early s to make Mesa Verde a National Park. The government also passed the Antiquities Act to prevent looting and vandalism at prehistoric sites on public land.
Most of the structures in the park were still filled with debris and in danger of collapsing. From to , Fewkes excavated and stabilized cliff dwellings at the park, including Cliff Palace.
His team recovered artifacts, cleared rooms, courts, and terraces of debris, strengthened walls, and built a new trail to make the site more accessible to visitors. The team added concrete retaining walls and repaired a four-story square tower. Morris implemented a new policy of documenting all repairs. This made it possible to tell the difference between the parts of the site that were original and those that had been restored.
This made it the same size as Long House on nearby Wetherill Mesa. Many of the rooms at the site appear to have been used primarily for storage. This indicated that Cliff Palace might have served as a central warehouse and distribution center for other dwellings in the area. In addition, Nordby discovered a wall running through the center of the site.
The wall divided Cliff Palace into two parts, suggesting a social organization based on two distinct groups. The year-old Cliff Palace has a variety of structural problems. These are exacerbated by frequent visitation and have required regular stabilization since the middle of the twentieth century. Since the s, visitation to Mesa Verde National Park increased dramatically.
Vibrations from foot traffic have caused loose material at the site to settle. Archaeologists found that the northern half of the site was built on firm bedrock, but the southern half sat on loose soil and debris that had fallen from the alcove ceiling. With no real foundation, the southern half of the site was slowly sliding downhill.
In the years that followed the discovery the boys spent much of their time searching for ruins, and they discovered and entered almost every cliff dwelling in the Mesa Verde. Mason last visited Mesa Verde in Despite his 74 years he was very active and he remembered well the days of discovery.
Mason said. The Utes were afraid of the ruins because of the spirits of the old people that they believed were in them. In addition, the people of Mesa Verde also constructed unroofed circular structures for outdoor ceremonies. Recent research reveals that a circular structure sometimes called " Mummy Lake " which, despite its name, has no mummies did not actually hold water but was likely used for some form of outdoor ritual.
Mesa Verde also took part in a vast trade network. When environmental conditions stabilized in the early 13 th century, the population increased in the Mesa Verde region, in some areas quite dramatically, wrote Glowacki. During this time of population increase, in the early 13 th century, people began creating what are called "cliff dwellings," which are houses, and in some cases entire villages, built into cliff edges.
Built near springs, the naturally enclosed sites offered protection against both the elements and intruders.
Paul Getty Trust, He noted that one of the largest cliff-dwelling sites is a place we call "Cliff Palace. Cliff Palace also had many decorations that are not well preserved.
The cliff settlements were not to last. Another population collapse occurred, this time at the end of the 13th century, leaving sites like Cliff Palace abandoned and falling into ruin.
The people appear to have migrated south again to sites in Arizona and New Mexico. Each clan or family probably had their own kiva in front of their dwelling and storage space. Consult National Geography Standard 12 : The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement. Discuss how people benefit from living in settlements.
Question one addresses how Ancestral Puebloans benefitted from settlement in Mesa Verde. Consult National Geography Standard 4 : The physical and human characteristics of places. Discuss different types of urban dwellings. Questions two and three in the Questions tab addresses other types of dwellings used by Ancestral Puebloans.
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