Durango Rock Shelters Archeology Site facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Durango Rock Shelters Archeology Site
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| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Nearest city | Durango |
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| NRHP reference No. | 85000260 |
| Added to NRHP | 1985 |
The Durango Rock Shelters Archeology Site is also known as the Fall Creek Rock Shelters Site. It's an important archaeological site located near Durango in La Plata County, Colorado. This site was once home to the Ancestral Pueblo people, who are sometimes called the Anasazi.
People lived at this site during the Late Basketmaker II and Basketmaker III Eras, which means they were here between about AD 1 and AD 1000. The site is also known by its official archaeological code: "5LP4134".
Discovering Ancient Homes
In 1938 and 1939, a person named Earl H. Morris led an excavation at this site. An excavation is when archaeologists carefully dig up an area to find old objects and structures. This site was an "open talus site," meaning it was on a slope where rocks and debris had collected.
What Did They Find?
The Durango Rock Shelters site was very special. It was one of the first places where archaeologists found actual houses built by the early Basketmaker people. Before this, people knew about the Basketmakers, but finding their homes helped us understand much more about how they lived.
Morris described one of these ancient homes. To build it, the Basketmakers would dig a space into the side of a steep hill. They would then use the dirt and stones they dug out to create a flat area, like a terrace, in front of the house.
How Were the Houses Built?
The floor of the house was scooped out into a shallow, round shape, about 9 meters (or about 30 feet) across. This floor was then covered with mud. The walls were made from logs laid horizontally and mud, leaning slightly inward. They were tall enough for people to stand up inside.
The roof was flat and made of clay supported by poles. Around the edge of the terrace, there was a curved line of stones. These stones helped hold back the trash and other things the people would throw out from their homes. This shows us how organized and clever the Basketmaker people were in building their homes and managing their living spaces.
