The Pueblo III Period: A.D. 1150 to 1300

Overview

Across the Mesa Verde region, thousands of people are congregating in immense pueblos. Walled villages wrapped around canyon heads and magnificent cliff dwellings perched on steep, rocky slopes are home to the majority of the population. The time is the mid-thirteenth century, and the Pueblo people of the Mesa Verde region, who over the centuries have built a remarkable cultural legacy, will soon carry that legacy to new homes in the south.

The Pueblo III period was a time of dramatic change. Early in the period, most people lived in small farmsteads loosely clustered around community centers. But by A.D. 1250, almost everyone had left their farmsteads and moved into the community centers, resulting in the formation of large villages. And most of those villages were located in canyon settings—around canyon heads or in rock alcoves high above the canyon floors.

Pueblo III cliff dwelling. Courtesy Mesa Verde National Park.

Pueblo III "cliff dwelling" built in natural rock alcove.

Paralleling these developments was an astonishing increase in the number of people living in the area. Archaeologists believe that the Pueblo population in the Mesa Verde region reached its peak between A.D. 1200 and 1250, probably numbering more than 20,000. But only a few decades later, by about A.D. 1285, the Pueblo people had left the region, moving to southern villages in present-day Arizona and New Mexico.

Such dramatic changes in such a short period of time naturally raise the question, "Why?" Why did the Pueblo people suddenly congregate in such large numbers in and near the canyons? Why, after investing so much effort in building enormous villages, did the entire population depart the region?

Archaeologists have long pondered these and related questions, and they continue to explore a variety of explanations. It is possible that social conflict and deteriorating environmental conditions in the Mesa Verde region forced, or at least contributed to, the migration from the area. Or perhaps new developments in pueblos to the south—for example, in the Pueblo communities along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico—actually drew the people of the Mesa Verde region away. There is no single or simple answer.


Introduction	Paleoindian Archaic Basketmaker II Basketmaker III Pueblo I Pueblo II Pueblo III Post-Pueblo Historic Today Bibliography
Overview Food Housing Artifacts	The Pueblo III Period: A.D. 1150 to 1300 Overview Across the Mesa Verde region, thousands of people are congregating in immense pueblos. Walled villages wrapped around canyon heads and magnificent cliff dwellings perched on steep, rocky slopes are home to the majority of the population. The time is the mid-thirteenth century, and the Pueblo people of the Mesa Verde region, who over the centuries have built a remarkable cultural legacy, will soon carry that legacy to new homes in the south. The Pueblo III period was a time of dramatic change. Early in the period, most people lived in small farmsteads loosely clustered around community centers. But by A.D. 1250, almost everyone had left their farmsteads and moved into the community centers, resulting in the formation of large villages. And most of those villages were located in canyon settings—around canyon heads or in rock alcoves high above the canyon floors. Pueblo III "cliff dwelling" built in natural rock alcove. Paralleling these developments was an astonishing increase in the number of people living in the area. Archaeologists believe that the Pueblo population in the Mesa Verde region reached its peak between A.D. 1200 and 1250, probably numbering more than 20,000. But only a few decades later, by about A.D. 1285, the Pueblo people had left the region, moving to southern villages in present-day Arizona and New Mexico. Such dramatic changes in such a short period of time naturally raise the question, "Why?" Why did the Pueblo people suddenly congregate in such large numbers in and near the canyons? Why, after investing so much effort in building enormous villages, did the entire population depart the region? Archaeologists have long pondered these and related questions, and they continue to explore a variety of explanations. It is possible that social conflict and deteriorating environmental conditions in the Mesa Verde region forced, or at least contributed to, the migration from the area. Or perhaps new developments in pueblos to the south—for example, in the Pueblo communities along the Rio Grande River in New Mexico—actually drew the people of the Mesa Verde region away. There is no single or simple answer.
Acknowledgments \| Illustration credits \| To borrow, cite, or request permission \| Please take our survey! Title page for Peoples of the Mesa Verde Region Copyright © 2008 by Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. All rights reserved.