Volume 3: Mesa Verde/ Aztec Ruins

According to the U.S. National Park Service, Mesa Verde National Park features 5,000 known archeological sites, including 600 spectacular cliff dwellings. The name is Spanish for “Green Table,” and the area was inhabited by the Ancestral Pueblo people from AD 600 to 1300, over 700 years. (source) Mesa Verde, as well as nearby Aztec Ruins National Monument located in Aztec, New Mexico, are an important link to the Native American past of the region and provide significant economic stimulus, with well over half a million people visiting each year. (source)


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"Spruce Tree House Interior."
A sepia toned photo of the interior of the Spruce Tree House ruins at Mesa Verde.
"T" shaped doorway at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico.
Color image showing the "T" shape doorway at Aztec Ruins, with the sky visible in the background. Masonry consists of sandstones.
A Ceremony in the Kiva
Colored print of a Paul Coze painting showing priests chanting around a kiva fire.
A Chaco Indian doorway. Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico.
Noted on bottom of postcard: A Chaco Indian Doorway, Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico.
A Merry Christmas 1916
Printed postcard from A. O. Andersen, Secretary, wishing the recipient "A Merry Christmas 1916 and A Happy New Year 1917", with the message that "The rooms of The Cliff Dwellers will be closed on Christmas Day and New Years Day" and that "To those who have forgotten -- contributions for the Christmas Fund are now being received." This card was typed out to Mr. Joseph Mills Hanson, Yankton, So. Dakota, and was postmarked in Chicago on Dec. 20, 1916.
A Mesa Verde (Pueblo) Burial, Aztec Ruins National Monument
The person of the burial here was around 35 years old at the time of death, and was presumably a man. This burial was found outside of the building, but since it is a very typical one, it was moved inside undisturbed so vistitirs can see one in a protected and charateristic location.
A Prehistoric Watch Tower (Navajo Canon)
A photograph of ruins of a watch tower perched atop a rock overlooking Navajo Canyon in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.
A kiva in Cliff Palace (Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.)
Print from a lithograph by Eugene Kingman of A kiva in Cliff Palace. Card addressed to Mr. & Mrs. James Makinson, and dated 8/16/1947. On back of postcard: From a lithography by Eugene Kingman.
A kiva in Cliff Palace (Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.)
Colored print of a Paul Coze painting. The caption reads, "Circular subterranean chambers (kivas) were used for religious ceremonies by men of the prehistoric period. Kivas are still used by present day Pueblo tribes." This is card No. 16 of a series of 24 Mesa Verde paintings by Paul Coze.
A portion of the excavated ruins at Aztec Ruins National Monument
Shows a view of the ruins at Aztec. A paved walkway can be seen winding its way around the ruins and there are a couple of plaques available for people to read seen in the photograph. (on back) A portion of the excavated ruins at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico. Here visitors may see ruins occupied in the 1100's and 1200's and which contain complete rooms, including ceilings.
A portion of the excavated ruins at Aztec Ruins National Monument
Ground view of a portion of the excavated ruins at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, New Mexico.
Aerial View of Aztec Ruins, Aztec, New Mexico
Sepia image of an aerial photograph of Aztec Ruins National Monument in Aztec, New Mexico.

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