Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park
May 15, 2009 Cliff Palace
The Puebloens entered and exited rooms via tiny doorways. The people were tiny. Males averaged 5'3"-5'4" while the women averaged 5'-5'1". The average age of death was 34.
Sandstone, wood beams called vigas (for ceilings), and mortar made up the primary building materials. They shaped the stones, piled them and cemented them with a mix of soil, water and ash. A plaster was then smoothed over the walls. Some paintings and even handprints are still visible on interior walls. Also, blackened roofs indicate rooms that had fireplaces. Note the one rounded tower, the only rounded building thought to possibly have served as a lookout against enemies who descended on the population to steal the little water they had from the spring below.
Rock chinking in the cementing clay fortifies the walls.
We were beyond impressed by the immense and immaculate structures that these ancient people built, structures that have hardly changed in 700-800 years.
-P