Originally the people came from Asia, drifting into America across the Bering Sea. From Alaska they drifted south and, after endless generations, reached the Southwest. Up to this time they had lived as roving hunters but somewhere in the Southwest they met other Indians who were farmers. This new life appealed to them and, borrowing the precious seeds, they gradually became a farming people. At about the time of Christ they moved into the Mesa Verde region and soon some of them were living on the Mesa Verde itself. At first their culture was simple but for a thousand years it developed. Finally it reached its peak in the thirteenth century when Cliff Palace and the other cliff dwellings were built. In addition to giving us the background, the archeologists have given us the material details of the ancient city. Through their excavations the actual remains have been brought to light, studied and interpreted. When we walk through Cliff Palace we appreciate the tremendous overhanging cave roof that protected the entire city. We see the results of the physical labors of the people; the houses with their smooth walls and bright paintings, the storage rooms, kivas, open courts, narrow winding passageways, firepits, and in the back of the cave, the trash room where the turkeys roosted. In the nearby museum we see the actual physical remains, the skeletons and mummies, of the people themselves. We see their clothing and their jewelry. There also are the utensils and tools; pottery, basketry, bows and arrows, stone knives, bone awls and needles, grinding stones, fire drills, planting sticks, stone axes and mauls; an endless array of things that were once in common use. All of this has been given to us by the archeologist. He has shown us the long background of the people and has unearthed, restored and interpreted the actual material things from the ruin. To many people these things seem cold and inanimate. They seem dead; just stone, bone, wood and clay. There is life in them, though, for they are the expressions of the desires, ambitions, loves and hates of the people. Every single article was produced because of some human desire or need. The person who keeps this in mind is able to walk through Cliff Palace, even today, and see the former inhabitants, for in the results of their efforts they still live. Many visitors forget this and do not see the people. Even the archeologist often fails to see them as he is a scientist who deals only with realities. Sometimes he can not see the people for the walls. Historians have also contributed to the story of ancient Indian life. The musty records of the early explorers of the Southwest contain many extremely valuable observations concerning the Pueblo Indians. These the historians have ferreted out.