Mysterious Cave Dwellings Found in New Mexico

by Sylvia Hoks, age 12

In the late 1200s, the Gila Cliff Dwellings in New Mexico were occupied by the Mogollon people who built their homes in natural caves. Seven hundred years later, these dwellings opened to the public in present-day southwestern New Mexico. People can now admire how these early Americans lived.

The cliff dwellings, which are located near Silver City, New Mexico, were built around 1280. The Mogollons made narrow canyons their homes, building the dwellings in caves and out in the open. Eight to ten families lived in the community for about one generation.

The Mogollon people tilled fields of corn, squash, and beans, which they traded with other communities. They also gathered plants and hunted game in the nearby forests. The cliff dwellers were well known for their pottery, including brown bowls with intricate black and white designs.

Around 1300, the cliff dwellers abandoned their homes, likely due to finding a new location, but the real reason is unknown. Years later in the 1870s, European settlers searched for fertile land in the Gila Wilderness to homestead. Pottery fragments hinted to the surprised settlers that there was earlier occupation there.

The Gila Cliff Dwellings was designated a national monument on Nov. 16, 1907. The land makes up 533 acres, and is near the border of the Gila Wilderness. The monument is now open to the public and is a popular tourist destination.

[Sources: National Park Service; New Mexico Tourism Department]