Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Tom Cosmas and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Mesa Verde [COLORADO] National Park United States Department of the Interior _Harold L. Ickes, Secretary_ NATIONAL PARK SERVICE _Arno B. Cammerer, Director_ [Illustration: DOI Logo] UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1937 +----------------------------------------------------------------------+ |+--------------------------------------------------------------------+| || Events || || || || OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE || |+--------------------------------------------------------------------+| || | || || 1st century[1] | The earliest occupation of Cliff Palace cave was || || B.C. or | probably before, or immediately following, the || || A.D. | beginning of the Christian era. These earliest || || | occupants, known to scientists as Basket || || | Makers, were the first agricultural Indians of || || | the Southwest. || || | || || 4th to 7th[1] | By the beginning of the fourth century A.D., the || || centuries | early agriculturists were developing the art of || || A.D. | pottery making. Later, their semisubterranean || || | homes were spread widely over the Mesa Verde. || || | || || 7th to | During the three or four centuries preceding 1000 || || 10th[1] | A.D., the Pueblo Culture on Mesa Verde was || || centuries | developing from modest beginnings toward its || || A.D. | classical stage, which culminated in the || || | building of the great cliff dwelling. || || | || || 1066 | Earliest date established for large Mesa Verde || || | cliff dwellings (Beam section from Mug House.) || || | || || 1073-1273 | Construction of Cliff Palace. || || | || || 1276 | Beginning of 24-year drought, an important factor ||