Who lived in the Mesa Verde cliff houses?

The Mesa Verde cliff houses were home to Ancestral Pueblo people, who farmed, built, cooked, prayed, and raised families in what is now southwestern Colorado. They had lived in the region for many generations before making homes beneath the cliff ledges.

The cliff homes were carefully made from stone, wood, and mortar carried into hard-to-reach places. Their sheltered rooms stayed cooler in hot months and caught winter sunlight, while shared spaces and kivas show a community built around work, ceremony, and neighbors close by.