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Mesa Verde

Written by Nadine Zangerle on . Posted in USA

... and following the tracks of the Anasazi, the prehistoric Native Americans.

On 8000 feet elevation it was getting cold. Since we didn’t have electricity at the campground we started our gas oven once in a while. Eating soups and drinking tea was our heating system.

Prepared to find out what happened with the Anasazi at Mesa Verde we explored the historic sites. Built on the plateau and later into the cliffs there are over 2400 historic sites and especially the cliff dwellings are well preserved.

There are many unanswered questions about the life of those prehistoric people, why did they all abandon Mesa Verde in 13th century? Was it a massive draught that forced them to leave their homes? Why did they have different ways for building front doors? So many questions hat even the archeologists doesn’t have an answer?

The guided tour at the Cliff Palace and a glimpse into a Kiva – a ceremonial room – at Sruce Treee House brought us back in time. So we learned that some nomads settled down in the Mesa Verde region in A.D. 600 and already harvested corn and squash.

It was fascinating how they survived in this harsh environment or how inventive they had been with the ventilation system in the Kivas.

Mesa Verde is definitely worth a trip.