Cliff Palace: Seven Wonders of Ancient North America

Seven Wonders of Ancient North America, Michael Woods and Mary B. Woods, Twenty-First Century Books, Minneapolis, MN, 2009.

Cliff Palace is part of the Mesa Verde archeological site and National Park.  This is the largest of the cliff dwelling in North America.  It was inhabited for about seventy-five years in the early 1200’s b the Anasazi or ancient Puebloans.  It is presumed that the dwelling was made on the cliff for protection from others as this was a time of great competition with other groups due to drought conditions and less resources.  It is also felt that the continuing drought also spelled the doom of the dwelling, as drought conditions made it so food was more and more scarce.  Cliff Palace has many kivas, or round religious rooms which often go into the ground.  The great quantity has led some to speculate that Cliff Palace may have been a religious center.  Cliff Palace was in ruins in the 1800s, but has since been restored by the National Park Service.