Mesa Top Sites

Look closely at this site and you will see three villages built one on top of another. The people of the first village constructed their homes of jacal. Later occupants built a second village on the same site with single-stone-wide sandstone masonry. A third village, built around 1075, represents a major innovation with its use of double-stone, rubble-core masonry—two outer walls with soil and rock fill between them. This sturdy construction allowed for the building of large multi-story room blocks and towers. This village features three circular towers, which may have been used as signaling stations, astronomical observatories, watchtowers, or ceremonial structures. The kiva was a vital part of all three villages, gradually evolving into what archeologists refer to as the Mesa Verde style kiva. As villages continued to increase in size and population, farming became increasingly important, requiring agricultural advancements. Farmers built check-dams—stone terraces built in natural drainages, which created more productive farmland and prevented water runoff and soil erosion.