Mesa Verde Cliff Dwelling Settlement

Timeline

1. c. 1190–1250Cliff Palace · ColoradoThe Ancestral Puebloans moved their dwellings from mesa tops into cliff alcoves, building multi-story stone rooms, storage pits and ceremonial spaces, forming one of the largest and most structurally complex cliff-dwelling cities in North American prehistory.
2. c. 1250–1290Mesa Verde Mesa · ColoradoBy the mid-to-late 13th century the number of cliff dwellings and population in the Mesa Verde region reached their peak; mesa agriculture, water works and long-distance trade networks supported dense habitation, though environmental pressures were already emerging.
3. c. 1291–1300Mesa Verde cliff dwelling area · ColoradoPersistent drought, resource depletion and social unrest prompted residents to migrate south to the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere by the late 13th century; the cliff dwelling settlements were largely abandoned around 1300, leaving a complete archaeological urban landscape.