An overall view of the Spruce Tree House as the late afternoon sun was shining its warm light on almost the whole dwelling. Did the dwellers use to look forward to this time of the day or did they dread it? Visiting places like this is always a great comparison to our life styles today. It is also very impressive to see how ingenious and inventive the people were given what they had to work with.

Spruce Tree House is the third largest dwelling in Mesa Verde (after Cliff Palace and Long House). It was constructed between 1211 and 1278 AD. It contains 130 rooms and 8 kivas and had a population of 60 - 80 people.

"An average man was about 5'4" to 5'5" (163cm) tall, while an average woman was 5' to 5'1" (152cm)." "Most people lived an average of 32-34 years, however some people did live into their 50s and 60s. Approximately 50% of the children died before they reached the age of five." ... nps.gov

Mesa Verde (green table) was the home of Pueblo People between 600 and 1300 AD. They were mainly farmers growing crops on nearby mesas. Their primary crop was corn. Men were also hunters. Puebloan women are famous for their elegant basket weaving and pottery. The Puebloans kept no written records. ... Wikipedia

Today's Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado protects about 600 cliff dwellings. The park was established in 1906 by Theodore Roosevelt.

References: Spruce Tree House - Mesa Verde National Park