Cliff Dwelling Life

Cliff Dwelling Life. . There are about 600 alcove sites in Mesa Verde National Park. About 90 percent contain fewer than 11 rooms. At least one-third are simply one room structures, probably storage rooms for a nearby cliff dwelling. There are only about a dozen cliff dwellings that contain 40 or more rooms, including Oak Tree House., Oak Tree House , Oak Tree House is one of the larger cliff dwellings on Mesa Verde, and its residents lived in a busy neighborhood. Fire Temple and New Fire House are just up canyon, Sun Temple sits above on the canyon rim, and many other cliff dwellings are nearby. At least one spring flowed from nearby cliff walls to supply the residents with fresh water. , Middens , Refuse such as animal bones and broken pottery were often tossed below., Plazas , Plazas were made, in part, from kiva roofs (now missing). These well-lit, open spaces were used for many daily activities. , Retaining walls , Sloping alcove floors were leveled by filling in behind retaining walls, providing support for walls and work space for daily activities., Storage rooms , Additional storage was located on ledges within or nearby the dwelling. Within the dwelling, rooftops of lower story buildings allowed easy access to ledge rooms that today appear to be inaccessible., Common Cliff Dwelling Features , Multi-storied masonry walls , Oak Tree House contains at least 60 rooms. The well-built stone masonry walls supported multiple stories. The alcove itself was sometimes used as a roof for upper rooms. , T-shaped doorways , Doorways were either rectangular or T-shaped. The purpose of the T-shape remains a mystery. It may have been symbolic, eased entry into outer rooms, or signified public use rooms. , Kivas , Oak Tree House has six kivas. Kivas were surrounded by several adjacent rooms. Each kiva and set of rooms may have been used by an extended family., Timeline: CE=Common Era , 550 CE , Semi-nomadic . 550 CE , Pithouses . 750 CE , Single-story villages . 1100 CE , Multi-story villages . 1200 CE , Cliff dwellings and late mesa top villages . 1300 CE , Migration