Manitou Cliff Dwellings facts for kids
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| Established | 1907 |
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| Location | 10 Cliff Road Manitou Springs, Colorado |
| Type | Archaeological museum |
The Manitou Cliff Dwellings are a group of relocated Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings and museums located just west of Colorado Springs, Colorado, on U.S. Highway 24 in Manitou Springs.
The Anasazi Museum was established and the cliff dwellings were built starting in 1904, and were opened to the public in 1907. The museum features displays about the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans, including exhibits of archaeological artifacts, tools, pottery and weapons. Visitors can also walk through the ancient-style ruins outside.
History
The Ancestral Puebloans lived and roamed the Four Corners area of the Southwestern United States from 1200 B.C. to A.D. 1300. The Ancestral Puebloans did not live in the Manitou Springs area, but lived and built their cliff dwellings in the Four Corners area, several hundred miles southwest of Manitou Springs. The Manitou Cliff Dwellings were built at their present location in the early 1900s, as a museum, preserve, and tourist attraction. The stones were taken from a collapsed Ancestral Puebloan site near Cortez in southwest Colorado, shipped by railroad to Manitou Springs, and assembled in their present form as Ancestral Puebloan-style buildings closely resembling those found in the Four Corners. The project was done with the approval and participation of well-known anthropologist Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett, and Virginia McClurg, founder of the Colorado Cliff Dwelling Association.
