Mesa Verde

A large flat-topped mountain in southwest Colorado which was an area of Anasazi occupation beginning in c 600 AD. The structures are among the most spectacular in the American Southwest: cliff dwellings which are large Pueblo III multiroom apartment dwellings. The most famous is the Cliff Palace, comprised of 200 rooms and 23 kivas built of dressed stone blocks. The population rose steadily until 1200, after which date came decline and total abandonment of the area by c 1300.

An area of Anasazi occupation in the northern San Juan region of southwest Colorado, USA. Major occupation began in c600 ad, and the population rose steadily until 1200, after which date came decline and total abandonment of the area by the end of the century. The defensive aspect of the Pueblo III period is epitomized by the cliff-dwellings of Mesa Verde. The most famous of these, the Cliff Palace, is a complex of over 200 rooms and 23 kivas built from dressed stone blocks. A variety of other types of site existed, however, the most common of these being the mesa-top pit house village of between 6 and 12 dwellings.