Archaeologists have agreed on three main periods of occupation by Pueblo peoples in southwestern Colorado: Pueblo I, Pueblo II, and Pueblo III.
Pueblo I (750 to 900). Pueblo buildings were built with stone, generally oriented to the south, and in U, E and L shapes. The buildings were located more closely together than the previous Basketmaker period and reflected deepening religious celebration. Towers were built, often near kivas, though their purpose (defense?, storage?, ceremonies?) still is debated. Pottery became more versatile, not just for cooking, but now included pitchers, ladles, bowls, jars and dishware for food and drink. White pottery with black designs emerged, the pigments coming from plants. Water management and conservation techniques, including the use of reservoirs and silt-retaining dams, also emerged during this period. Midway through this period, about 900, the number of residential sites in the Hovenweep area increased.
Pueblo II (900-1150). During the Pueblo II period there was an increase in population that resulted in creation of more than 10,000 sites in 250 years. Because much of the land is arid, and crop yields were highly variable, people supplemented their diets by hunting, foraging and trading for food. By the end of the period, there were multiple-story dwellings made primarily of stone masonry, towers (especially in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah), and family and community kivas.
Pueblo III (1150-1300). Rohn and Ferguson, authors of Puebloan Ruins of the Southwest, state that during the Pueblo III period there was a significant community change. Population tended to coalesce into larger community centers at canyon heads or under cliff overhangs. Population peaked between 1200 and 1250 to more than 20,000 in the Mesa Verde region. However, by 1300 most Pueblo people had abandoned the Four Corners area, as the result of climate changes and food shortages. They are believed to have moved south and east to villages in Arizona and New Mexico, especially the Rio Grande valley near what is today Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Types of Buildings
In addition to the movable structures used by other Native Americans across North and South America, the Pueblo peoples created distinctive structures for living, worshiping, defense, storage, and daily life.
Pueblo - Referring to both a certain style of Puebloan architecture and groups of people themselves, the term pueblo is used in architectural terms to describe single-story or multistory buildings made of coursed stone or adobe, and occasionally jacal. Usually these buildings were plastered with adobe both inside and outside.
Kiva - Circular underground buildings used for ceremonies, preparations for ceremonies and as retreats for families during the worst months of winter. Kivas may have evolved from pit houses. Found throughout the Ancestral Pueblo area and in parts of the Mogollon region (central Arizona), they generally feature a bench around the inside walls, pilasters against the walls to hold up the beams of the roof, a fire pit, a ventilator shaft to bring air to the fire pit and a square opening in the roof with a ladder to enter the kiva. A kiva generally was located in front of a family's suite of pueblo rooms.
Great houses - Large adobe-plastered stone buildings believed to be mostly ceremonial in use, though they may have been used in part as residences. In the Chacoan period (roughly equivalent to PII, 900 to 1150 A.D.) these buildings share certain features, such as large rooms (15 feet square), massive size, elevated position and core-and-veneer masonry. They also often have blocked-in kivas, tower kivas and nearby great kivas. In the Pueblo III (PIII) period (1150-1300 A.D.) ceremonial buildings were less distinct from residential structures in room size and often included enclosed plazas.
Great kivas - Large versions of traditional "family" kivas that appear to have been intended for use by the larger community, especially in Chacoan times. There are great kivas as large as 75 feet across, such as Casa Rinconada in Chaco Canyon. Roofs are held up by massive posts set into special recesses in the floors. In earlier times, such as PI, great kivas might not be roofed. In the Mogollon region, square great kivas often were built.
Pit houses - In the Basketmaker and early PI periods most of the populations of the Southwest lived in pit houses, carefully dug rectangular or circular depressions in the earth with branch and mud adobe walls supported by log sized corner posts. While pit houses never completely disappeared, after PI most residences were above-ground blocks of pueblo rooms, usually with at least one "family" kiva in front.
Cliff dwellings - Pueblos constructed under overhangs in the cliff sides of the mesas in the Southwest. Cliff dwellings were a relatively late development in Pueblo communities (mostly after 1150) and are considered to have been built at least partly for defensive reasons.
Trincheras - The Hohokam and Trincheras culture used these distinctive type sites in the Southwest and northwest Mexico. Trincheras sites are usually located on steep slopes of hills and low mountains, and are characterized by terraces and walls that stairstep up the slope. Remains of the terraces and walls reminded early explorers of "trincheras," the Spanish term for entrenchments or fortifications.
Jacal is a type of wall in Pueblo buildings made of woven reeds and sticks covered with adobe. Slim close-set poles were tied together and filled out with mud, clay and grasses.
The Ancient Pueblo People site, designated on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, was a community inhabited between Durango and Pagosa Springs about 1,000 years ago with about 200 rooms. Rooms in the buildings were used for living, work areas and ceremonial purposes. The site is located within the San Juan National Forest Archaeological Area on 4,100 acres of land. Between May 15 and September 30 the Visitor Center is open and guided walking tours are conducted daily.
The pueblo village was at least a moderate-sized community. There was one occupation at Ansel Hall from 1080–1150, with its peak period about 1125. The community had great kivas and great houses. Crow Canyon Archaeological Center Research found that at least one of the small sites was built late in the 11th century, about 1074. The village may have been abandoned by 1100, based upon the absence of 12th century white and black pottery.
Brewer Archaeological District has two large prehistoric settlement sites: Brewer Mesa Pueblo (11th century) and Brewer Canyon Pueblo (13th century). Brewer Canyon Pueblo, part of the Upper Squaw Canyon Center, had 245 site clusters from 1225 to 1290.
Ruins situated on two low hill tops on the top of Squaw Point Mesa approximately 6 miles south-southwest of Dove Creek, Colorado. Both sites are characterized by a material culture that appears to be representative of the years spanning the late Pueblo I and early Pueblo II periods.
The Late Archaic Basketmaker II Darkmold Site, inhabited from about 220 BC through AD 750, was added to the Colorado Register of Historic Properties in 2000. Archaeological evidence found at the site include slab-lined roasting pits and bell-shaped pits.
Spring Creek Archaeological District, also known as Zabel Canyon Indian Ruins, is located in the San Juan National Forest. The site was inhabited from 300 BC through Pueblo times Ancient Pueblo People. In the protohistoric periods of southwestern Colorado the Ute, Apache and Navajo ranged and lived in the area. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
Talus Village, a Basketmaker II site with Basketmaker pit-house dwellings, was excavated in 1940 by Earl Morris, the first archaeologist to conduct professional excavations in LaPlata County. It was added to the Colorado Register of Historic Properties in 1996.
Ute Mountain Ute Mancos Canyon Historic District, located on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reservation, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was occupied by puebloan people during the broad periods from 500 to 1499 [they left southwestern Colorado by 1300].
Ruins. Escalante Pueblo was constructed approximately 1120 to 1130 and made of groupings of stone walled family and communal rooms, including kivas. The architecture is like that of the Chaco Canyon in present-day New Mexico. The pueblo was also occupied about 1150 and again 1200.
Ruins. Dominguez Pueblo, an example of independent family homes outside the main pueblo. Discovered at the site were items that shed light on how the people may have lived, including "6,900 turquoise, jet and shell beads; a shell and turquoise frog pendant and mosaics, two fine ceramic vessels, six bone scrapers, a woven mat and many other items."
One of the largest pueblos of the 13th century, Sand Canyon Pueblo, built between 1250 and 1280, contains at least 20 multi-family room blocks with 420 rooms, 90 kivas, and 14 towers. A spring runs through the center of the walled site that held up to 725 people. Construction was exacting, with care taken to shape stone, and some double and triple walls for stability. Families lived in clusters of rooms that included living, storage and work rooms and had their own family kivas. The community shared roofed plazas, great kivas and towers often connected to kivas. By 1280 new construction had stopped and people began migrating out of the pueblo; By 1290 the pueblo was abandoned, as were other Colorado pueblo sites, never to be inhabited again by puebloan people. The Northern San Juan pueblo, significant for its ceremonial use and burial remains, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
There was one occupation at the Castle Rock Pueblo from 1250–1275, with its peak period about 1260. The community had Great Houses. There were at least 16 kivas, 40 surface rooms, nine possible towers, and a D-shaped enclosure.
There was one occupation at Lowry Pueblo from 1080–1150, with its peak period about 1125. The community had Great Houses, Great kivas and roads. The Lowry Pueblo National Historic Landmark consists of 8 kivas, a great (community) kiva and 40 rooms built as high as three stories. The underground great kiva was built about 1103 and had murals painted over about 5 layers of plaster. About 1110 another kiva was built on top of the original kiva. Based upon the size of the kiva it's thought that the Lowry Pueblo may have been a local center for religious gatherings and celebration.
Hawkins Pueblo, occupied by several related groups, is the largest ruin within the preserve. It was most populated in the Pueblo II period, from about 1000 to 1150. The site contains several room block ruins and rubble that contains a kiva, mounds, and middens.
Hovenweep National Monument
The Hovenweep National Monument (Site ID 5MT.604) is registered on the National and Colorado State Historic Registers.
Cajon Group, constructed like the Holly, Hackberry and Horseshoe configuration, is located at the head of Allen Canyon. It consists of a cluster of room blocks and the remains of a tower, estimated to house 80-100 people, that was constructed on a boulder that sits below the rim of the canyon. Up to seven kiva depressions are located around the spring. Remnants of wall alignments below the rim on the talus represent possible terrace farming.
Cutthroat Castle, the largest of the remains, is located on the north side of the stream. Cutthroat is unique among the units due to the lack of a spring, the numerous kivas and the fact that much of the architecture sits below the rim.
Goodman Point group, the largest and easternmost village, contains small and large clusters of pueblo buildings built partially underground. It was most heavily populated in between 1150-1300, the Pueblo III period. Earlier residents include Basketmakers from 200-450 and during the second Pueblo period 900-1150.
Hackberry was a medium-sized Pueblo III village in the east fork of Bridge Canyon. About 250 to 350 inhabitants are thought to have resided in the Hackberry Group. Located about 500 yards away, the Horseshoe group consists of four pueblo buildings that for a U-shape. Horseshoe Ruin had a dam at the rim to create a reservoir. Horseshoe House is a D-shaped structure containing three rooms surrounding a possible central kiva. The architectural style suggests ceremonial or public use. About 800 years ago the buildings were constructed with "precisely fit" stones and set with mortar of sand, ash, clay and water.
The Holly group is located at the head of Keeley Canyon. Holly is the site known for a rock art panel that has been interpreted as a summer solstice marker. The five named buildings at the site are Curved Wall House, Great House, Holly Tower, Isolated Boulder House and Tilted Tower.
Square Tower group is the largest collection of pueblo buildings at Hovenweep and was populated with up to 500 people. It is located in Little Ruin Canyon which is made up of Square Tower, Tower Point, and Twin Towers ruin groups. Towers at Hovenweep were built in a variety of shapes; D-shapes, squares, ovals and circles and for several purposes, including tool and grinding work areas, kivas for ritual functions, residential rooms and storage. Towers have limited access, contain few windows and many have narrow slots or peepholes placed in the walls. The slots and doors of Hovenweep Castle, in Square Tower Group, have been shown to define an apparent solar calendar. The building is aligned so that light is channeled through openings into the building at sunset of the summer solstice, the winter solstice and the spring and fall equinox. The light falls in a predictable pattern on interior door lintels.
The McElmo Drainage Unit, located in Montezuma and Dolores Counties, consists of tributaries of McElmo Creek, situated north of the northern slopes of Mesa Verde and Ute Mountain, that is part of the northern San Juan River drainage. For Sand Canyon, see the Canyons of the Ancients and for Ansel Hall, see Dolores County.
Albert Porter Pueblo, also known by its Site ID and as Hedrick Ruin, was a small puebloan North San Juan village. See the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.
There was one occupation with Great Houses at the Bass Site from 1080–1150, with its peak period about 1125. Based upon reporting to the Colorado Historical Society, occupancy extended into the early 13th century. The North San Juan pueblo site was added to the National Register of Historic Places for Montezuma County, Colorado in 1999.
Cannonball Ruins, part of the Great Pueblo Period of the McElmo Drainage Unit, was occupied from 1140-1300. The large settlement had architectural characteristics similar to the nearby Hovenweep pueblos. The site was first excavated in 1908 by Sylvanus Morley. Cannonball Ruins has been listed on the Colorado State Register of Historical Properties and the National Register for Historic Places since 1997.
Ruins also called Clawson Ruins were of the Pueblo tradition from the broad periods of 1-1499 AD [Pueblo people left Montezuma County area by 1300.] The previous village was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Ruins from 500 - 1000, also known as the Mitchell Springs Ruin Group, is a Northern San Juan pueblo. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Montezuma County in 2001. Ruins of 9 medium-sized pueblos from the Basketmaker II period to late Pueblo III. Occupying up to 1,000 people the pueblo had a total of 300 rooms, 35 kivas and towers.
Ruins, also called Toltec Springs, was occupied from 1200–1250, with its peak period about 1225. The community had reservoirs and construction with double or triple walls. The pueblo site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982,
There was an occupation, with roads, at the Pigge Site from 1175–1225, with its peak period about 1200. The National Register of Historic Places reports occupation through the broad periods of AD 1 - 1499 [by 1300 puebloan people from southwestern Colorado had migrated out of their pueblos.] The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
Roy's Ruin, part of the Great Pueblo Period of the McElmo Drainage Unit, was occupied in the early 13th century. It is a classic Prudden Unit. The pueblo was built with masonry construction in roomblocks. The small site had a tower, kiva and a midden. Roy's Ruin has been listed on the Colorado State Register of Historical Properties and the National Register for Historic Places since 1992.
Wallace Ruin, was a Northern San Juan and Chaco pueblo inhabited during the broad 1000 to 1499 period [Ancient Pueblo People left southwestern Colorado by 1300]. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.
Woods Canyon Pueblo, also known as Wood Canyon Ruin, was a Northern San Juan pueblo inhabited during the broad 1000 to 1499 period [Ancient Pueblo People left southwestern Colorado by 1300]. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. Ruins consisting of as many as 200 rooms, 50 kivas, and 16 towers, and possibly a plaza.
Yellowjacket pueblo experienced two periods of occupation. The first occurred between 1075 and 1150, with peak residency in 1125. The next period occurred between 1175 and 1250. The peak of the second period occurred in 1225. The community had Great Houses, Great kivas, reservoirs and roads. Yellow Jacket pueblo was a village of the Mesa Verde culture was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1985. Covering 100 acres, the pueblo contains at least 195 kivas (including a probable great kiva), 19 towers, a possible Chaco-era great house, and as many as 1,200 surface rooms. See the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center.
Mesa Verde
Mesa Verde National Park (Site ID 5MT.9790) is listed in the National and State Registers of Historic places.
Ruins. Set on a high ledge facing east, Balcony House with 45 rooms and 2 kivas, which would have been cold for its residents in the winter. The modern visitor enters by climbing a 32-foot ladder and a crawling through a 12-foot tunnel. The exit, a series of toe-holds in a cleft of the cliff, was believed to be the only entry and exit route for the cliff dwellers, which made the small village was easy to defend. One log was dated at 1278 so it was likely built not long before the Mesa Verde people migrated out of the area. Visitors can enter Balcony House through ranger guided tours.
This photo is of an Emmett Harryson, a Navajo, at a T-shaped doorway at Balcony House (1929).
This multi-storied ruin, the largest and best-known of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde, is located in the largest cave in the center of the Great Mesa. It was south and southwest facing, providing greater warmth from the sun in the winter. The site had 217 rooms, including storage rooms, open courts, walkways, and 23 kivas. Many of the rooms were brightly painted.
Ruins. Located on the Wetherill Mesa, Long House is the 2nd largest village for about 150 people. The 150 rooms are not clustered like the standard cliff dwellings, nor is it one of the most elegant set of buildings; Stones were used without shaping for fit and stability. Two overhead ledges contain more rooms. One ledge seems to include an overlook with small holes in the wall to see the rest of the village below. A spring is accessible within several hundred feet and seeps are located in the rear of the village.
This ruin situated on Wetherill Mesa was professionally excavated in the late 1960s by archaeologist Arthur Rohn. The structure contains 94 rooms, in four levels, including a large kiva, with simple vertical walls and masonry pilasters. This ceremonial structure has a keyhole shape, due to a recess behind the fireplace and a deflector, that is considered an element of the Mesa Verde style. The rooms clustered around the kiva formed part of the courtyard, indicating the kiva would have been roofed.
Ruins. Spruce Tree House is the 3rd largest village, within several hundred feet of a spring, had 130 rooms and 8 kivas. Because of its protective location, it is well preserved. The short trail to Spruce House begins at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum.
The Square Tower House is one of the stops on the Mesa Top Loop Road diving tour. The tower that gives this site its name is the tallest structure in Mesa Verde. This cliff dwelling was occupied between 1200 and 1300.
The site is dated between approximately 1150 and 1175 A.D. It is located on the south slopes of Ute Mountain. Some archeologists believe that the site was settled by immigrants from Chaco Canyon, or the Chuska Mountains.
Ute Mountain Ute Mancos Canyon Historic District, located on the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe reservation, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
There were two occupations at Yucca House: 1) 1080-1150, with its peak period about 1125 and 2) 1225-1275, with its peak in 1250. The community had Great kivas and Great Houses. Two unexcavated settlement areas covered in vegetation include: 1) Western Complex was a large pueblo of up to 600 rooms, 100 kivas and a giant, perhaps community, kiva. A spring runs through the complex. A large building, Upper House, was made of adobe. 2) Lower House is an L-shaped pueblo with a plaza, 8 rooms and a large kiva.
Other
The sites are sorted by nearest town and site name.
Bement Site is a Colorado State Register of Historic Properties site, representing the first and second Pueblo periods. Between 750-850 there was one shelter on the site. About 150 years later, a group of six structures were inhabited from 1000 to 1150.
The rock shelter is listed on the State register. Corn dated at 1500 found at the site provides evidence that some people from the Ancient Pueblo periods may have remained in the area and farmed corn.
Tabeguache Cave II is a large prehistoric rock shelter occupied from about 600 - 1500. There is also a Tabeguache Cave and two other rock shelters near Nucla, Colorado.
Gallery
Map of Ancient Pueblo People (Anasazi) regions, including the northern Mesa Verde region and the southern Chaco Canyon region.
^ Aldenderfer, Mark S.; Maschner, Herber D. G. (1996). Anthropology, Space and Geographic Information Systems. Oxford University Press. p. 127. ISBN0-19-508575-2.
^Varien, Mark D.; Wilshusen, Richard H. (editors). (2002). Seeking the Center Place, Archaeology and Ancient Communities in the Mesa Verde Region. University of Utah Press. p. 210. ISBN0-87480-735-2.
^Winter, Joseph (1975). Hovenweep 1974: Archeological Report No.1. San Jose, CA: Anthropology Department, San Jose State University.
^Winter, Joseph (1976). Hovenweep 1975 Archeological Report no.2. San Jose, CA: Anthropology Dept, San Jose State University.
^Most information from this section can be found here:Ferguson, William (1987). Anasazi Ruins of the Southwest in Color. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. ISBN0-8263-0873-2.
^Wenger, Gilbert R. (1991) [1980]. The Story of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde Museum Park, Colorado: Mesa Verde Museum Association. pp. 55-56. ISBN0-937062-15-4.
^Casey, Robert. L. (1993) [1983]. High Journey to the Southwest. The Globe Pequot Press. pp. 225-226. ISBN1-56440-151-0.
^Watson, Don. Indians of the Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado: Mesa Verde Museum Association. pp. 3, 29, 31, 37. ISBN0-937062-00-6.
^Wenger, Gilbert R. (1991) [1980]. The Story of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde Museum Park, Colorado: Mesa Verde Museum Association. p. 51. ISBN0-937062-15-4.
^Wenger, Gilbert R. (1991) [1980]. The Story of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde Museum Park, Colorado: Mesa Verde Museum Association. p. 57. ISBN0-937062-15-4.
^Wenger, Gilbert R. (1991) [1980]. The Story of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Verde Museum Park, Colorado: Mesa Verde Museum Association. p. 52. ISBN0-937062-15-4.
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Map of Ancient Pueblo People (Anasazi) regions, including the northern Mesa Verde region and the southern Chaco Canyon region.
A jacal in Big Bend National Park.
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