SEASON 4 // EPISODE 2: THE LARGEST VILLAGES
Why Do the Cliff Dwellings Get All the Fame?
In season 4, we’re digging into some of the most commonly asked questions at Mesa Verde National Park.
“I feel the Ancient Ones’ presence. I can imagine footprints. I can smell the cookstove, I can smell a pot of stew... the energy is still there... It’s like walking into someone else’s home.”
The stunning alcove villages - such as Cliff Palace - are what originally captured the attention of the first European descendant folks to move through the canyons of Mesa Verde. However, these were not the largest communities in the Mesa Verde region… not by a long shot.
We’ll hear from Donna Glowacki - Archaeologist and Associate Professor in the Anthropology Department at the University of Notre Dame - and Ranger Jill Blumenthal - Education Coordinator and Volunteer Program Manager at Mesa Verde National Park - as they explain how the Ancestral Pueblo communities grew and shifted over time, and that the cliff dwellings only represent a small piece of the larger foundation of their descendant cultures today. And finally TJ Atsye (Laguna Pueblo) shares her thoughts on the sights and sounds of daily life in a mesa top or canyon bottom village, and what it means and feels like for her visit these sacred spaces today.
Looking for more?
Well, you’ve come to the right place.
NPS IMAGE
Far View Sites
Far View was one of the most densely populated parts of the mesa from 900 to about 1300. Nearly 50 villages have been identified within a half square mile area that were home to hundreds of people.
Today, several excavated and stabilized sites are linked by a trail system within a short walking distance. These surface sites include Far View House, Pipe Shrine House, Coyote Village, Far View Reservoir, Megalithic House, and Far View Tower.
Cliff Palace
One of the largest cliff dwellings in North America is located along the Cliff Palace loop at Mesa Verde National Park. Archaeologists estimate this village is comprised of 150 rooms and 23 kivas, and had a population of approximately 100 people.
For more information about Cliff Palace, and to learn how you can currently experience this special place, click the link below to visit Mesa Verde National Park’s website, or visit their Facebook page for emergency updates.
NPS IMAGE/Kayla Woodward
photo: Archaeology conservancy
Yellow Jacket Pueblo
Yellow Jacket Pueblo is the largest known village in the Mesa Verde region. Archaeologists currently estimate that this village spanned about 100 acres, and was likely home to between 800 and 1300 people. That’s 8-13x the size of Cliff Palace!
Occupied from 1050 to about 1300, it is comprised of more than 1500 rooms, between 106 to 170 kivas, multiple towers, a Great House, a Great Kiva, and a possible reservoir.
Additional reading on Yellow Jacket Pueblo
Yellow Jacket Pueblo is currently protected by the Archaeology Conservancy and is not open to the public. Click the link below for information about the Archaeology Conservancy’s 2021 tour schedule.
Architect Dennis R. Holloway constructed a 3D model of Yellow Jacket Pueblo using data collected by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center’s site report in 2011. Click the link below to see what this village may have looked like on the landscape.
Mesa Top Loop Audio Tour
Check out the Mesa Top Loop Audio Tour - put together by Mesa Verde National Park - to follow the footsteps left behind by the Pueblo ancestors.
Download or stream this multi-part tour now on Apple Podcasts or visit Mesa Verde National Park’s website to find a transcript.
NPS PHOTO: Ranger TJ ATSYE (Laguna pueblo)
NPS Image
Diversity within the Mesa Verde Region
Thousands of people trace their heritage back to the canyons, mesas, and alcoves of Mesa Verde. Before Spanish conquest, over 300 groups called this region their ancestral home, today there are 26.
The 19 Pueblos of New Mexico: Taos, Picuris, Sandia, Isleta, Ohkay Owingeh, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambe, Tesuque, Jemez, Cochiti, Pojoaque, Kewa (Santo Domingo), San Felipe, Santa Ana, Zia, Laguna, Acoma, and Zuni
Hopi in Arizona
Ysleta del Sur Pueblo in Texas
Navajo Nation in Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico
Ute Mountain Ute Tribe in Colorado and Utah
Southern Ute in Colorado
Northern Ute in Utah
Jicarilla Apache Nation in New Mexico
