Spruce Tree House was an Indian village and, like towns and villages today, it was not all built at one time; rather, it grew section by section over a period of years. Sometime around A.D. 1200 a group of Indians—perhaps related families—moved into the cave and built the first units. Each unit consisted of living and storage rooms clustered about an open court which contained a kiva. The courtyard and kiva probably served as a center for the social and religious activities of the group. New units were added to the structure as other families moved into the village. When people needed more space, they added new rooms alongside, in front, in back, or on top of the existing rooms. Shortly before A.D. 1300 when the Indians finally abandoned Spruce Tree House, the village contained 114 rooms. The ground plan on Page 6 shows the arrangement of the rooms. Most of these were in double rows within the cave; in some places there were three rows. The interior rooms, dark and poorly ventilated, were probably used for storage. The central portion of the structure was built three stories high and reached the cave ceiling; most of the buildings, however, were only two stories in height. To us these small rooms seem cramped, cold, and dark—quite unsuitable as living spaces. But these people probably spent little time inside the rooms, using them mainly for protection against the cold, for sleeping, and for storage. Most of the time they were probably out in the courtyards or on the flat rooftops working or carrying on other daily activities. It is unlikely that all 114 rooms in Spruce Tree House were in use at the same time. New rooms were built as older ones fell into decay; smaller rooms were probably vacated for larger ones as the number of villagers increased. A conservative guess sets 200 to 250 as the largest number of people who lived in Spruce Tree House at any one time. The Indians of the Mesa Verde, like their neighbors in the surrounding areas, were dry-farmers—depending upon rainfall to water their crops. In the fields on the mesa tops they grew corn, beans and several varieties of squash. The rainfall probably averaged about 18 inches a year, just as it does now, which is more than sufficient for dry-farming. The Indians supplemented their diet with wild roots, nuts and berries as well as with meat from large and small game animals. The period of the cliff dwellings is known as the Classic Period and marks the climax of Pueblo culture in this region. The Mesa Verde people made beautiful pottery and decorated it elaborately with geometric and animal figures in black on a white or light-gray background. They also made cotton cloth which they often decorated with colored designs. Their masonry was of exceptional quality with the building blocks beautifully shaped and carefully laid in clay mortar.