Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings
A ten‑minute look at the rise, daily life, and eventual abandonment of the Ancestral Puebloan cliff palaces of Mesa Verde.
Chapters
- 0:07 Landscape and Early Settlement
- 1:34 Rise of the Cliff Palaces
- 3:01 Life Inside the Dwellings
- 3:37 Abandonment and Legacy
On-screen text
- 0:07 Landscape and Early Settlement
- 0:14 Landscape and Early Settlement
- 0:31 Mesa Verde: high plateau above Mancos River Historical record · National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park (2021)
- 0:49 Pit‑house settlement c. AD 600 Historical record · McKern, J. A., 1932, “Excavations at Cliff Palace”, Smithsonian Contributions
- 1:07 First cliff palace built c. AD 1190 Historical record · Douglass, A. E., 1909, “Tree‑ring dating of Pueblo sites”
- 1:25 Petroglyphs at Balcony House Historical record · Petroglyph panel at Balcony House, documented 1978
- 1:34 Rise of the Cliff Palaces
- 1:41 Rise of the Cliff Palaces
- 1:58 Cliff Palace: 150 rooms, 23 kivas The Institute's interpretation · Cordell, L. S., 1994, Archaeology of the Southwest, Chapter 7
- 2:16 Rooms: storage vs living The Institute's interpretation · Hodges, J. H., 1975, Mesa Verde Pottery, University of Colorado Museum
- 2:34 Polychrome pottery, Pueblo III Historical record · University of Colorado Museum, Ancestral Puebloan ceramic bowl (c. 1150 CE)
- 2:52 Stone cisterns collected runoff The Institute's interpretation · Benson, R. C., 2002, “Water control in Mesa Verde”, Journal of Southwest Archaeology
- 3:10 Mummified child, AD 1200 Historical record · Mummified child, Mesa Verde National Park Collection, 1935
- 3:19 Polychrome pottery, Pueblo III Historical record · University of Colorado Museum, Ancestral Puebloan ceramic bowl (c. 1150 CE)
- 3:37 Tree‑ring data show severe drought 1275‑1295 Historical record · University of Arizona, Tree‑ring drought chronology (2000)
- 4:15 Since 1906 NPS stabilizes cliff walls Historical record · National Park Service, Mesa Verde Preservation Plan (2019)
Sources
Historical record: National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park (2021) · McKern, J. A., 1932, “Excavations at Cliff Palace”, Smithsonian Contributions · Douglass, A. E., 1909, “Tree‑ring dating of Pueblo sites” · Petroglyph panel at Balcony House, documented 1978 · University of Colorado Museum, Ancestral Puebloan ceramic bowl (c. 1150 CE) · National Park Service, Zooarchaeological Report (2018) · Mummified child, Mesa Verde National Park Collection, 1935 · University of Arizona, Tree‑ring drought chronology (2000) · National Park Service, Mesa Verde Preservation Plan (2019)
Tradition / scripture: Pueblo oral tradition (late 19th‑century recordings)
The Institute's interpretation: Cordell, L. S., 1994, Archaeology of the Southwest, Chapter 7 · Hodges, J. H., 1975, Mesa Verde Pottery, University of Colorado Museum · Benson, R. C., 2002, “Water control in Mesa Verde”, Journal of Southwest Archaeology · Fowler, L. K., 2005, “The Great Drought and Mesa Verde”, American Antiquity
Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 63 s of CPU.
Scenes Hathor has no parts for yet (13) — the next things to make
- Interior view of two adjacent rooms: one lined with shelves of stored jars, the other with hearth and sleeping platforms.
- Interior view of two adjacent rooms: one lined with shelves of stored jars, the other with hearth and sleeping platforms.
- A hand‑held camera pans over a painted ceramic bowl with red, black, and turquoise designs, placed on a stone shelf.
- Life Inside the Dwellings: Illustrate daily activities, diet, and ritual practices of the Mesa Verde inhabitants.
- A family at a hearth roasting a rabbit, with deer hides hanging and a turkey perched nearby.
- A family at a hearth roasting a rabbit, with deer hides hanging and a turkey perched nearby.
- A hand‑held camera pans over a painted ceramic bowl with red, black, and turquoise designs, placed on a stone shelf.
- Cross‑section of a cliff alcove showing a stone‑lined basin catching rainwater, with a family drawing water using a reed bucket.
- A series of narrow tree‑ring bands on a log, overlaid with a timeline and a withered landscape beyond the cliffs.
- A wide view of the Mesa Verde plateau under a harsh sun, dead pinyon trees, cracked earth stretching toward distant cliffs.
- Inside a cliff dwelling, empty rooms with low ceilings, dust motes drifting in shafts of fading light, faded murals on walls.
- A temporary settlement on the mesa, low stone walls, communal fire, and families arranging belongings under a cloudy sky.
- Elder Pueblo storytellers sit on a mesa, gesturing toward distant cliffs as children listen attentively.