Cliff-dwelling

Cliff-dwelling
Sinagua cliff dwelling (Montezuma Castle), Arizona.
Cavates and pathways in soft tuff at Tsankawi, New Mexico

Cliff dwelling is the general archaeological term for the habitations of prehistorical peoples, formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, with more or less excavation or with additions in the way of masonry.

Two special sorts of cliff-dwelling are distinguished by archaeologists;

  1. the cliff-house, which is actually built on levels in the cliff, and
  2. the cavate, which is dug out, by using natural recesses or openings.

Some of the most famous of these are the North American cliff-dwellings, particularly among the canyons of the southwest, in Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado and Chihuahua in Mexico, some of which are still used by Native Americans. There has been considerable discussion as to their antiquity, but modern research finds no definite justification for assigning them to a distinct primitive race, or farther back than the ancestors of the modern Pueblo people. The area in which they occur coincides with that in which other traces of the Pueblo tribes have been found. The niches which were used are often of considerable size, occurring in cliffs to a thousand feet in height, and approached by rock steps or log ladders.

See also

References

  •  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 
  • Noble, David Grant. "Ancient Ruins of the Southwest. Northland Publishing, Flagstaff, Arizona 1995. ISBN 0-87358-530-5
  • Oppelt, Norman T. "Guide to Prehistoric Ruins of the Southwest". Pruett Publishing, Boulder, Colorado, 1989. ISBN 0-87108-783-9.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • cliff dwelling — noun a rock and adobe dwelling built on sheltered ledges in the sides of a cliff the Anasazi built cliff dwellings in the southwestern United States • Hypernyms: ↑dwelling, ↑home, ↑domicile, ↑abode, ↑habitation, ↑dwelling house * * * noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • cliff dwelling — Prehistoric, usually multistoried house of the ancestors of present day Pueblo Indians, built from с 1000 along the sides or under the overhangs of cliffs. The use of hand hewn stone building blocks and adobe mortar in these communal dwellings… …   Universalium

  • cliff dwelling — Synonyms and related words: Dymaxion house, White House, adobe house, building, casa, consulate, country house, country seat, dacha, deanery, dwelling house, edifice, embassy, erection, fabric, farm, farmhouse, hall, house, houseboat, lake… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • cliff dwelling — noun see cliff dweller …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Cliff dwellers — may refer to: Cliff Dwellers, a painting by George Bellows. North American tribes who practice cliff dwelling. Cliff Dwellers are an Indian tribe who lived about 2,000 years ago in California This disambiguation page lists articles associated… …   Wikipedia

  • cliff dweller — ☆ cliff dweller n. 1. a member of an ancient North American Indian people of the Southwest that lived in hollows or caves in cliffs: they were ancestors of the Pueblo Indians 2. Informal a person who lives in a large urban apartment house cliff… …   English World dictionary

  • cliff dweller — cliff dwelling. 1. (usually cap.) a member of a prehistoric people of the southwestern U.S., who were ancestors of the Pueblo Indians and built shelters in caves or on the ledges of cliffs. 2. a person who lives in an apartment house, esp. in a… …   Universalium

  • Cliff Palace — The Cliff Palace in 2006 …   Wikipedia

  • cliff dweller — noun a member of the Anasazi people living in the southwestern United States who built rock or adobe dwellings on ledges in the sides of caves • Hypernyms: ↑Anasazi * * * noun 1. often capitalized C&D a. : one of the people of the Anasazi culture …   Useful english dictionary

  • Cliff (disambiguation) — A cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliff may also refer to: People: Cliff (surname) Cliff (given name) Places: Cliff Island, Maine, an island Lake Cliff, a freshwater lake in Dallas, Texas Cliff Mountain (New York), a 3944… …   Wikipedia

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