• Visitors hike along the base of the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

    Gila Cliff Dwellings

    National Monument New Mexico

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  • Cliff Dwellings Closed June 3 through 7; TJ Site Tours Offered

    The Gila Cliff Dwellings will be closed from June 3 through 7, 2013 for hazard rock removal from the cliff face directly above the dwellings. Ranger-guided tours of the TJ Site will be offered at 11 am and 2 pm while the cliff dwellings are closed. More »

Ranger Guided

A park ranger points out an artificat found on the ground.
Remnants of the Tularosa and Classic Mimbres Mogollon people are still found throughout the park. Please remember to leave artifacts where you find them.
 

CLIFF DWELLINGS TOUR
approx. 2 hours

Objectives: At the end of the tour, students will be able to

  • Describe what the Tularosa Mogollon people ate.
  • List the animals the Mogollon hunted.
  • List the foods they farmed and where they farmed them.
  • List what they gathered in the area.
  • Discuss how archeologists know what they know about the Cliff Dwellers.
  • Analyze ways students can help preserve archeological sites.
  • Discuss the importance of taking care of archeological sites.

This program is ideal (and benchmarked) for New Mexico classrooms grades 3 through 8.

 

Pre-Visit Vocabulary Sheet

Student Handout (to be used while at the park)

 
Benchmarked for Grades 2 through 6
In this activity, students will represent deer populations and exemplify how population changes are dependent on the resources available in a given area.

Teacher Info

 
mule deer on side of the road looking at camera
There are four things within an ecosystem that all living things need: food (energy source), water, shelter (protection from the elements) and space. Explain that all animals (humans included) need these four elements to live in an area. When there are enough of these resources in an environment, then populations increase. But if even one of the elements is scarce, then populations decrease because individuals from the population compete for the limited amount of resources.

Did You Know?

Agave Thistle Needle

The ancient Puebloans of the Mogollon area used the spiny tips of leaves from the agave plant as needles for sewing. This item is in the Visitor Center Museum at the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.