Myths and Misconceptions: the Disappearance of the Cliff Dwellers
People marvel at the magnificent architecture of Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep and Canyon de Chelly and wonder where the people went who made such spectacular dwellings and ceremonial sites. For decades, the answer was that they simply disappeared, possibly due to pressure from other tribes, disease, drought, or in the more outlandish renditions, ancient astronauts. In fact, the descendants of these people are still among us, living in unique villages in three states, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas. Most people refer to these cliff dwelling pre-contact Natives as Mogollon, Hohokam and the Anasazi. However, the word Anasazi is Navajo and, since the Navajo were the traditional enemies of the modern Pueblo peoples, the term is considered offensive to some. Ancestral Puebloans is more the more neutral term. Around the 8th-11th century in European reckoning, extensive climate change involving drought and conflict with incoming tribes forced grou...