This national monument interprets and preserves part of Mogollon cultural history. They built their dwellings in cliff caves for protection from the elements and from hostile peoples.
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| Gila Cliff Dwellings |
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| Along a Shelf in the Canyon Wall |
While humans used these caves for shelter much earlier, the Mogollon people built structures and rooms within the caves around the 1280s.
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| Original Structures |
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| Structures Protected within the Caves |
Multiple families made the dwellings their home for one or two generations where they lived, built, crafted art, raised children, and shared stories.
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| Room |
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| Interconnected Walls |
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| Room Closest to the Cave Mouth |
The heavy soot on the ceilings plus found artifacts from earlier cultural groups make it likely that humans used the caves for thousands of years.
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| Soot Coated Ceiling |
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| Strange Shapes in the Soot |
This remains a special place of cultural heritage, history, and beauty.
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| What A View! |
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| Cliff Dweller Canyon |
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