Who were the cliff dwellers that mysteriously disappeared?
For 1,000 years, long before Columbus, the Anasazi Indians were lords of what’s now the American Southwest. Their civilization was as complex and sophisticated as that of the Mayans. Then, apparently without warning, the Anasazi all but disappeared.
What happened to the Anasazi cliff dwellers?
Final collapse. 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.
Why did Anasazi build cliff dwellings?
The Anasazi built their dwellings under overhanging cliffs to protect them from the elements. Using blocks of sandstone and a mud mortar, the tribe crafted some of the world’s longest standing structures. Anasazi means “ancient outsiders.”.
Where can you find these cliff dwellings?
Cliff dwellings are found throughout the Desert Southwest around the Four Corners region of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona and provide a window into these ancient people’s past. Climb down a ladder into a 1000 year-old kiva at Edge of the Cedars State Park . Take a hike to view ancestral Puebloan ruins and cliff dwellings in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park . View the most notable and best preserved cliff dwellings in North America at Mesa Verde National Park .
What happened to the cliff dwellers?
The general consensus seems to be that their agrarian way of life had led to a population explosion, which coupled with poor farming methods had depleted the soil and other resources, just as a drought led to reduced harvests. As a result, the Anasazi left their cliff homes and moved to new territories,…
Why did the Anasazi disappear?
There are many theories related to why the Anasazi disappeared, but there is no solid evidence that gives one specific reason. It was previously suspected that the drought in the late 1200s drove them from their longtime homes, but more discoveries have shown that this would not have been enough on its own to drive them out.