People of Mesa VerdeFor more than 10,000 years, people have lived in, traveled through, and maintained deep relationships with the lands now known as Mesa Verde. Long before written history, generations of families adapted to the mesas, canyons, and alcoves - learning when to move, where to gather, how to farm, hunt, build, trade, and care for one another in a changing environment. Over time, people developed increasingly complex communities. Some chose to build homes and villages within sheltered alcoves of the canyon walls, creating places that reflect remarkable knowledge of stone, space, climate, and community life. These places were not isolated moments in history, but part of a much longer story of movement, innovation, and connection across the Four Corners region. In the late 1200s, many families chose to leave Mesa Verde and establish new homes elsewhere. Their descendants remain connected to this place today through cultural traditions, oral histories, and ongoing relationships with the land. Other Indigenous peoples later lived in and traveled through the region, continuing its long human story. Mesa Verde National Park preserves these places not as remnants of a vanished past, but as enduring cultural landscapes - shaped by people over thousands of years and still meaningful today. Use the following links to learn more about the people of Mesa Verde. (To get the Free Adobe Reader, which is required to read the pdf file, click here.)
Places Reflecting America's Diverse CulturesThe National Park Service preserves historic places and stories of America's diverse cultural heritage. Explore and learn about more Places Reflecting America's Diverse Cultures.
|
Last updated: December 31, 2025