Monuments of the Past – Object #5

Cliff Dwellings, Mesa Verde

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<p>The photograph contains a black and white photograph of ruins of buildings from Mesa Verde National Monument. The buildings were built out of stone and adobe bricks inside of a shallow opening on a cliffside. There are seven circular underground rooms in front of the buildings, which have different rooms and are several storeys high. Trees surround the cliffside and a rock ledge hangs over the spot where the buildings were constructed.</p>

Cliff dwellings and kivas, c. 13th century, Colorado

Questions:

What do you think this structure might be used for?  

How do you think this monument was built?  What materials were used? Give evidence from the photograph to support your answer.

What conclusions can you draw about the people who built this building?

How do you think this monument has changed from the time it was originally built? Give evidence from the photograph to support your answer.

Citations

Highsmith, Carol M, photographer. Black-and-white images of cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park in Montezuma County, Colorado, 2015. Gates Frontiers Fund Colorado Collection within the Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.