Ancestral Puebloans — Cliff Dwellers of the American Southwest
The Ancestral Puebloans — the ancestors of the modern Hopi, Zuni, Pueblo, and other Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest — developed one of the most architecturally sophisticated cultures in pre-Columbian North America between approximately 700 and 1300 CE. Chaco Canyon (c.850–1150 CE) was the cultural and ceremonial centre. Pueblo Bonito — the largest great house — contained approximately 650 rooms and rose four to five storeys; it was the largest building in North America until the late 19th century. The Chacoan system extended across a 150,000 square-kilometre region connected by engineered road segments up to 9 metres wide and perfectly straight for tens of kilometres. Great kivas (ceremonial structures) were built at regular intervals, and astronomical alignments suggest a sophisticated calendar system. Mesa Verde (c.600–1300 CE) represents a different expression of Ancestral Puebloan culture in the high canyons of southwest Colorado. Cliff Palace (built c.1190–1260 CE) is the largest cliff dwelling in North America: 150 rooms and 23 kivas tucked into a natural alcove in a 26-metre canyon wall. The location — accessible only by ladders and hand-and-toe trails — suggests defensive concerns. The mystery of the 'Great Abandonment' (c.1275–1300 CE): the Ancestral Puebloans left their major settlements in a southward migration within two generations. Archaeological evidence suggests a combination of sustained drought (reconstructed from tree rings), regional violence (documented in traumatic skeletal remains), and possibly religious or political change. The populations did not disappear — they migrated to the Rio Grande valley and other areas where their descendants still live.
- Year: 700 CE
- Category: Social
