Existing comment:
The location, height, and size (100 rooms) of this village, along with its public spaces -- a ceremonial ballcourt (shown above), large plaza (not in view), and community room (left) -- suggest it was not a typical household but rather an important meeting place. It had no equal in the region.
Most people lived in numerous small dwellings found for miles around; those living here may have held ritual and leadership responsibilities.
Descendants say prophecy and beliefs guided decisions and that villages like this were purposefully settled and left. When clans departed, doorways were scaled and items left in rooms; maybe people hoped to return one day. The reasons for leaving were likely varied. By the 1200s the area was denuded of trees and shrubs and soils were depleted. As the environment changed, perhaps conflicts increased or trade |