<< Web Picks >> Mesa Verde - Ancient Village or Settlement in United States in The Southwest
Submitted by bat400 on Saturday, 23 September 2017 Page Views: 16943
Multi-periodSite Name: Mesa VerdeCountry: United States Region: The Southwest Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Cortez, Colorado
Latitude: 37.256677N Longitude: 108.501214W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
Internal Links:
External Links:
I have visited· I would like to visit
mfrincu visited on 29th Nov 2014 - their rating: Cond: 4 Amb: 5 Access: 5 We visited this park during winter time but fortunately some of the ruins were still accessible and open. Look for the guided tours and also visit early morning to avoid the crowds.
jeffrep visited on 1st Oct 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Visited 3 days in early October. Need at least 3 days to see most of the sites.
bat400 visited on 27th Apr 2012 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 5 Access: 3 Once you are in the Park there are many ancient sites you can visit on your own and without additional fees. Everyone wants to see the spectacular cliff dwellings, but don't neglect the many mesa top dwelling and farming sites that are actually much more typical of occupation at Mesa Verde.
The drive from the main entrance to the Visitor Center, muesums, and the nearest sites takes about 30-45 minutes, the distance to nearby towns and lodging is another 30 minutes minimum. So if the campground or lodge are open, it may be worth it to stay there.
Major forest fires have destroyed substantial portions of the mesa top trees, leaving a bare and not particularly pleasant landscape in a majority of the park, with living plants limited to scrubs and ground cover. However, there are still terrific views down into the canyons and across the horizon to the San Jaun Mountains, Shiprock, and other landmarks.
XIII visited on 1st Aug 1995 - their rating: Cond: 3 Amb: 4 Access: 3
Average ratings for this site from all visit loggers: Condition: 3.25 Ambience: 4.75 Access: 3.5
Ancient villages and Settlements. Petroglyphs. Artifacts. Springs. Mesa Verde (Green Table) rises to the south of the McElmo Creek valley where the town of Cortez lies. It is actually a group of mesas. On the mesa tops and along the cliffs are the remains of a society of Ancestral Puebloan culture (previously referred to as Anasazi) that reached its height in the late twelth century. There are nearly 5000 archaeological sites within the park borders (52 thousand acres) ranging from the "Basketmaker" culture pithouse (~500 AD) remains to the Classical Pueblo culture cliff dwelling (1200 to 1300 AD) ruins.
The beautiful cliff dwellings are the spectacular ruins to see here, although these dwellings were only built in the last 100 years of the occupation of Mesa Verde by the Ancestral Puebloans. Multiple large building complexes of dressed stone with wood beam door frames and roofs, many with plaster facing remaining in sheltered areas, were built into alcoves and under overhangs of rock on the mesa's cliffs. These can be seen from roadside overlooks, and may be hiked to by a combination of paved paths, hiking trails, and ladders. Many sites have disability access.
The occupation of the Mesa Verde area was not continuous, and it is difficult to say if the later groups who built the mesa top pithouses, pueblos and the later cliff dwellings tucked into alcoves are the descendants of the earliest peoples who created pit houses in the canyon floor and cliff alcoves, although it is assumed so. It is equally difficult to determine if the direct reason the abandonment around 1300 AD was due to a region wide drought that took place in the late 1200's or other population related factors like the availability of wood for building and fires, or the availability of game. Modeling of crop production and drought by Van West in the 1980's casts doubt that drought alone could have caused enough pressure to make people leave the area. Evidence of violent death and pueblo destruction at some sites immediately west of Mesa Verde points social conflict that could be a symptom of forces that led to the breakup of the society.
After the formation of the National Park in 1906 Jesse Walter Fewkes and later archaeologists removed many artifacts from the major sites in preparation for increasing numbers of National Park visitors. Today Mesa Verde's storage of curated artifacts is the largest in the National Park system, and is about to be moved into a new visitor center, research and curation facility being completed at the park entrance. Other Mesa Verde artifacts are on display at the Chicago Field Museum, the Smithsonian Institute, the National Museum of Finland, and many smaller museums which have inherited private collections predating the adequate protection of the sites.
The park contains a visitor's center, the Chapin Mesa Museum, and a multitude of archaeological sites, some of which may be driven to and are wheelchair accessible, and others that are accessible by hiking trails. The highlights of the park are the cliff dwelling pueblo sites, but pit houses and mesa top pueblo sites can also be visited. The ruins that can be visited are stabilized to prevent further damage, but many can only be visited on ticketed, ranger-led tours, or while a ranger is on duty at the sites. Petrogylphs, springs, as well as a wide variety of plant and animal life can be seen by visitors who take the time to hike past the auto routes. The area is a Unesco World Heritage site, and a U.S. National Historic Landmark.
Location is given for the park's current Visitor Center. The main entrance to the park is north east on Highway 160. Please review the park's website or other guides before visiting. The park road is generally well paved, but winding with steep climbs to Wetherill Mesa. Count on taking 2 hours each way to drive into and out of the park from its farthest points. Weather conditions may be severe in winter, closing roads, but several ruin sites and the park museum and visitor's center are open year round. Camping and a concession lodge are available in the park from April into October.
[References:
National Park Service website, including brochures, "Mesa Verde Trip Planner" and "Mesa Verde Educational Packet."
People of the Mesa Verde Country by Ian Thompson, 2002.
"Examining the Abandonment of the Four Corners," Julian Smith, American Archaeology, Summer 2006.
CyArk Mesa Verde Heritage Site website.]
Note: Mesa Verde Voices, a podcast series connecting the experiences of people from the past with the people of today, recently completed its first season. Also, Free Entrance to Mesa Verde National Park on September 30, and November 11-12
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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
1.7km S 189° Mesa Verde - Megalithic House* Ancient Village or Settlement
1.8km S 190° Mesa Verde - Mummy Lake* Misc. Earthwork
2.0km S 188° Mesa Verde - Far View Tower* Ancient Temple
2.1km S 186° Mesa Verde - Far View House* Ancient Village or Settlement
2.2km S 185° Mesa Verde - Pipe Shrine House* Ancient Village or Settlement
2.2km S 191° Mesa Verde - Coyote Village* Ancient Village or Settlement
7.3km SSW 205° Mesa Verde - Step House Ancient Village or Settlement
8.0km S 175° Thomas House Ancient Village or Settlement
8.0km SSW 201° Badger House Community Ancient Village or Settlement
8.2km S 171° Mesa Verde - Spruce Tree House* Ancient Village or Settlement
8.3km SSW 204° Nordenskjoeld Site No 16* Ancient Village or Settlement
8.4km SSW 202° Mesa Verde - Long House Ancient Village or Settlement
9.2km S 181° Navajo Watchtower Promontory Fort / Cliff Castle
9.2km SSW 196° Kodak House Ancient Village or Settlement
9.2km S 175° Mesa Verde - Petroglyph Pt. Trail Cliff Dwelling * Ancient Village or Settlement
9.2km S 175° Mesa Verde - Petroglyph Point* Rock Art
9.2km S 172° Mesa Verde - Pithouses and Pueblos* Ancient Village or Settlement
10.1km S 175° Mesa Verde - Square Tower House* Ancient Village or Settlement
10.3km SSE 166° Mesa Verde - Cliff Palace* Ancient Village or Settlement
10.3km S 169° Mesa Verde - Fire Temple* Ancient Village or Settlement
10.5km SSE 167° Mesa Verde - Sun Temple* Ancient Temple
10.5km SSE 168° Mesa Verde - Oak Tree House* Ancient Village or Settlement
11.0km SSE 163° Mesa Verde - Balcony House* Ancient Village or Settlement
11.1km SSE 168° House of Many Windows Ancient Village or Settlement
11.7km SSE 159° Hemenway House Ancient Village or Settlement
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