Life at Mesa Verde: An Analysis of Health and Trauma from Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park

Abstract

Many Mesa Verde cliff dwellings were occupied during the thirteenth century in the final decades before the Four Corners region was depopulated. Deposits in such cliff dwellings offer unique opportunities to research motivations for migration and to understand living conditions in these unusual locations. In compliance with NAGPRA, bioarchaeological data were collected from Wetherill Mesa burials in 1995; this study is the first systematic analysis of these data. Skeletal health indicators demonstrate increased physiological stress for residents of Pueblo III cliff dwellings. Worsening health related to resource availability and distribution, aggregation, and unsanitary living conditions might have influenced migration from the region. Skeletal fracture data indicate decreased trauma during the Pueblo III, contrasted with the possibility of culturally mediated violence or violent attack at Long House. This pattern of violence was likely a response to insecurity during the late thirteenth century and ultimately might have provided another motivation for migration.