Pueblo cliff dwelling settlements

Timeline

1. 1150–1225Colorado Plateau · Colorado PlateauIn the late 12th century the climate grew drier and mesa farming came under pressure; the Ancestral Puebloans began building dwellings in cliff alcoves, using rock overhangs and spring water to create settlements with both defensive and microclimate advantages.
2. 1225–1240Mesa Verde · Mesa VerdeIn the early 13th century large cliff dwellings such as Mesa Verde's Cliff Palace and Balcony House were completed, containing hundreds of stone rooms, circular ceremonial kivas and granaries; population density and architectural complexity reached the peak of the Ancestral Pueblo era.
3. 1241–1250Four Corners, American Southwest · Four CornersContinuing drought in the 1240s worsened the agricultural crisis, but cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde and the periphery of Chaco Canyon still maintained relatively high populations; pottery and other crafts of this period were highly uniform in style, indicating regional cultural integration and active trade networks.
4. 1250–1300Rio Grande Valley · Rio Grande ValleyBetween the 1270s and 1300s the population of the Four Corners region migrated south on a large scale and cliff dwelling settlements were systematically abandoned; the migrants settled in the Rio Grande Valley and elsewhere, becoming the ancestors of modern Pueblo Indians such as the Hopi and Zuni.