Cliff Dwellers
Cliff Dwellers, American Indians who built communities in the sides of cliffs. The era of cliff homes extended from the late 1000's to the early 1300's. Most of the cliff dwellings were located in the area where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet. They were built probably for defense against enemies, but may also have served to leave the fertile mesas (tablelands) available for growing crops. Some clusters of homes accommodated as many as 1,500 persons.
Cliff dwellers lived in stone housesThe dwellings were generally in natural recesses, although sometimes shelters were dug into the cliff face. Usually the residents constructed rooms of stone and logs on the rocky ledges, sometimes several stories high. The homes could be reached only by steps cut in the cliff or by ladders.
The Cliff Dwellers were a branch of the Pueblo Indians, who were descendants of the Anasazi. The cliff communities show characteristics of the pit houses that were the traditional Anasazi dwellings and of the multifamily Pueblo structures. The cliff dwellings were abandoned abruptly, for unknown reasons.