Existing comment:
Sun Temple.
Far above, the D-shaped symmetry is striking, especially the twin kivas. Unlike its contemporaries -- the haphazard cliff houses -- Sun Temple appears to follow a preconceived design.
Such massive construction must have involved a community-wide effort. Perhaps people from all of the surrounding cliff dwellings helped with this project.
The structure was never completed: there is no evidence of a roof or roof timbers. Apparently, construction stopped when the Anasazi people began to leave the area.
It is tempting to view Sun Temple as the cliff dwellers attempt to appeal to the spirits and forestall the total abandonment of their homeland. Though the structure appears ceremonial (nothing about the rooms suggests habitation -- no doors, no windows or firepits), its exact function remains a mystery. |