— When we visited Mesa Verde NP back in 2007, we were dismayed at the fire devastation when entering the park. Luckily, none of that had affected the historic cliff dwellings in the park such as Spruce Tree House and Cliff Palace.
Pictured above is the overlook view of Cliff Palace, the largest of the cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde NP. The National Park Service (NPS) states that “recent studies reveal that Cliff Palace contained 150 rooms and 23 kivas and had a population of approximately 100 people. Out of the nearly 600 cliff dwellings concentrated within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units.” Furthermore, “it is thought that Cliff Palace was a social, administrative site with high ceremonial usage.” That can be evidenced by the number of kivas, as stated above.
The photo immediately above shows a group touring the ruins. This gives you a sense of the size of Cliff Palace. You can also see the reconstruction efforts done to restore some of the rooms in the area.
When we did this tour, we were amazed at the large area that these rooms covered. Also, it is clearly noticeable that people who lived here were shorter than the average North American. Again, according to NPS, “an average man was about 5’4″ to 5’5″ (163 cm) tall, while an average woman was 5′ to 5’1″ (152 cm).” It must also be noted that Ancestral Pueblo in Cliff Palace had a shorter life span. NPS says that this was “due, in part, to the high infant mortality rate. Most people lived an average of 32-34 years, however some people did live into their 50s and 60s. Approximately 50% of the children died before they reached the age of five.”
According to Wikipedia, “Cliff Palace was constructed primarily out of sandstone, mortar and wooden beams. The sandstone was shaped using harder stones, and a mortar of soil, water and ash was used to hold everything together. “Chinking” stones were placed within the mortar to fill gaps and provide stability.” Chinking stones are small stones used to fill in the gaps between the beams and larger stones.
The Cliff Palace tour is a fascinating walk through history. However, the NPS warns that this “one-hour, ranger-guided tour involves 120 uneven stone steps and climbing five, 8-10 foot (2.6-3m) ladders on a 100 foot (30m) vertical climb. Total walking distance is about 1/4-mile (400m), round-trip.”
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