Cliff Dwellings - a Window into an ancient United States civilization

      I had always had a deep desire to visit Mesa Verde Park, the location of the oldest and the largest collection of cliff dwellings in the United States.  These provide a look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo or Anasazi  people who lived here from 600 AD to 1300 AD.  Having always been intrigued by ancient architectural structures in different parts of the world, it was important for me to study this piece of history of the country that was now my home.
       At Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling at the park, one can visualize a small township of people living in about 150 rooms.  Because of the proximity of the rooms, it is clear there existed a culture of co-operation and group participation.  This culture also displayed a level of sophistication - the dwellings were typically built on levels in a cliff, perhaps as a protection from the elements and invaders.  Kivas or ceremonial rooms were underground chambers used by Ancestral Puebloans to conduct healing rites or to pray for rain, luck in hunting, or good crops. They also served as a place for a group to stay warm as a fire was lit for rituals.  Overall the dwellings radiated an atmosphere of simplicity and peace. 
        It is surmised that these dwellings were abandoned due to a famine or drought.  Some inhabitants migrated to New Mexico and Arizona.  The modern pueblo people who live in these states today are probably descendants of the Anasazi people.
       There is so much one can learn from history today.  There is a  sense of wonder that people who did not have the kinds of tools and technologies we have today, were able to use ingenuity to build homes and survive.  It seemed possible for up to two hundred people to live in small spaces with simplicity and harmony, something which at times seems unimaginable in todays world.  It is refreshing to take a cue from a civilization like this.
       You can view the variety of images of this area here.