Brian Vauter > Mesa Verde National Park 2006 photo
Brian Vauter > Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Spruce Tree House was likely constructed between A.D. 1200 and 1276 by the Ancestral Puebloans. They used to be known as the Anasazi, but the name has been changed to "better reflect the ancestral origins of the people." Anyway, Spruce Tree House was first discovered in December of 1888 by Richard Wetherill and Charles Mason. They named the dwellings after a huge spruce tree they found growing in front of the site. It is said that they used the tree to climb down from the cliff above. The tree was cut down by a later explorer.
Brian Vauter > Spruce Tree House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
This is the first courtyard with Spruce Tree House. The wall at the back has 20 rooms behind it split over three stories. Each room measures about 6 x 8 x 5-1/2 feet and likely had one or two people living in it. The holes with sticks in them on the courtyard floor lead down into two of the eight kivas. Kivas were special rooms used for ceremonial purposes.
Brian Vauter > Spruce Tree House details, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Mesa Verde National Park 2006 photo
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