Canyon Barriers

Surrounded by deep canyons, villages here seem isolated and cut off from people on other mesas, yet hand and toe trails pecked into the sheer sandstone made these cliffs the Anasazi’s highways, and steep climbs were part of daily routine. Throughout the Mesa Verde area, strong evidence of cooperation and exchange appears in ceremonial structures like Sun Temple, check dams, and widespread advances in pottery and architecture. The Mesa Verde culture did not develop so rapidly, or accomplish so much, in isolation.

Colorado · United States