Crumbled House facts for kids

Crumbled House is an ancient ruined building complex. It was once a large home, or "great house," built by the Ancestral Puebloans. You can find it in New Mexico, just east of the Chuska Mountains.

Archaeologists believe these buildings were built and lived in between the years 1100 and 1250 AD. Crumbled House is a special protected area, meaning it's important to keep it safe for future generations to learn from.

Where is Crumbled House Located?

Crumbled House is found in the northwestern part of New Mexico. It sits inside the land of the Navajo Nation. This ancient site is about 72 kilometers (45 miles) west of the main part of Chaco Canyon.

The site is also about 104 kilometers (65 miles) south of Mesa Verde. It's located at an average height of about 1,790 meters (5,870 feet) above sea level. The people who built Crumbled House got their wood for building from the nearby Chuska Mountains, which are only about 3 kilometers (2 miles) away.

What Did Crumbled House Look Like?

Crumbled House was built like a fortress to protect its residents. It used the natural defenses of a flat-topped hill, called a mesa. The site has two main groups of rooms and three big sections. These sections start at the top of the mesa and go down the slopes using stairways.

The Mesa Top "Castle"

The highest part of Crumbled House was shaped like a triangle. It had huge round towers at each corner. Strong stone walls followed the edges of the mesa. Because of its design, this upper part was sometimes called the "Castle of the Chuskas."

This "castle" section is about 30 meters (98 feet) above the valley floor below. One side is about 47 meters (154 feet) long, and the other two sides are about 81 meters (266 feet) long. This part might have had around 80 rooms on the ground floor. It also had 25 rooms on a second story and 14 underground rooms called kivas. The walls were made from sandstone rocks found on the slopes.

The Eastern Moat and Defenses

Another important defense was a wide ditch, like a moat, on the eastern side. This moat separated the mesa from the open land. A strong wall was also built on the northeastern side. These features created a strong defense against anyone trying to approach from the open plateau.

The Lower House Section

The third main part of Crumbled House is about 21 meters (69 feet) south of the "castle." It's built on a steep slope, stepping down about 20 meters (66 feet) in five or six terraces. This lower section is about 55 meters (180 feet) by 60 meters (197 feet) in size. It contained about 150 rectangular rooms and 16 round kivas. The lower house was built using dark sandstone rocks from the western slope.

Experts believe the "great house" part was lived in between 1150 and 1250 AD. The larger compound might have been used until 1300 AD. The way the stone walls were built and the shape of the kivas suggest a connection to the building styles of Mesa Verde.

What Did They Leave Behind?

The people who lived at Crumbled House seem to have had a culture more like the people of Mesa Verde than those of Chaco Canyon. For example, the pottery found at Crumbled House is similar to pottery made at Mesa Verde. This pottery, called Crumbled House Black-on-white, was made between 1180 and 1300 AD.

Archaeologists also found many stone tools and flakes. Almost 20% of the chipped stone found at Crumbled House came from a place called Narbona Pass. This quarry is located high up in the Chuska Mountains.