USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -Between 1150 and 1200 the Ancestral Pueblo peoples shifted their dwelling sites from the mesa tops into the alcoves in the canyon walls, where they began to build the cliff houses, with rooms averaging 6 by 8 feet (1.8 by 2.4 metres) in size, using sandstone and the construction methods developed earlier.

Detailed explanation-2: -The dwellings of the Pueblo peoples are located throughout the American Southwest and north central Mexico. The American states of New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona all have evidence of Pueblo peoples’ dwellings; the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora do as well.

Detailed explanation-3: -Mesa Verde National Park (Spanish for green table) was established to preserve archaeological sites built by the Ancestral Puebloans who inhabited Mesa Verde for more than 700 years (550 A.D. to 1300 A.D.).

Detailed explanation-4: -At first, they lived in pithouses, usually dug into the ground on the mesatops, but sometimes also located in alcoves in the cliffs. Later, as their population grew, they built larger houses of adobe, called pueblos. By 1000, they were building multi-story houses of shaped stone.

Detailed explanation-5: -Indians of the southwest made bricks out of dirt and straw and dried them in the sun to build their pueblos. Over time, rain and wind would cause the bricks to “melt” away. Wooden posts inside each room supported the roof which was covered with layers of sticks, then grass, mud, and finally plaster.