June 13, 2008 Dansk tekst til venstre English text on the right Dagens baghave: Backyard of the Day: Mesa Verde National Park, Cortez, Montezuma County, Colorado Mesa Verde National Park is located a few miles east of Cortez in Montezuma County, Colorado.   Vi vågnede i Mesa Verde National Park, hvor indianerne i 1200-tallet byggede store boligkomplekser i sprækker i de lodrette klippevægge. We woke up in Mesa Verde National Park, where Indians in the 1200's built large apartment houses in cracks in the sheer cliff walls.     Gustaf Nordenskiöld Den norske arkæolog, Gustaf Nordenskiöld, var den første, der systematisk undersøgte bygningerne på Mesa Verde i 1891, og han udgav bogen "Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde," kort før han døde af tuberkulose i en alder af 26 år. Han beviste også, at bygningerne ikke stammede fra en forsvunden civilisation, men fra pueblo-indianernes forfædre. Norwegian born archeologist Gustaf Nordenskiöld was the first to systematically study the buildings at Mesa Verde in 1891, and he published the book "Cliff Dwellers of the Mesa Verde," shortly before he died of tuberculosis at the age of 26. He also established that the buildings were not from a lost civilization, but from ancestors of the pueblo Indians.     Før ca. 1200 boede Mesa Verde indianerne i "pit houses," meget simple bygninger, der bestod af to rum, udgravet i jorden og dækket af et tag lavet af grene og mudder. Det store rum var til beboelse, mens det mindre rum muligvis var et lagerrum. Before about 1200 Mesa Verde Indians lived in "pit houses," very simple buildings that consisted of two rooms, excavated in the ground and covered by a roof of branches and mud. The larger room was the residence, the smaller may have been a store room.

Spruce Tree House   Men omkring 1200, begyndte Indianerne at bygge huse i klippevæggene. Spruce Tree House er det mest velbevarede af alle husene. De tre huller forrest i billedet er kivaer, en slags forsamlingsrum, der blev brugt til ceremonier. But around 1200, the Indians began to build houses in the canyon walls. Spruce Tree House is the most well preserved of all the houses. The three pits in the front of the picture are kivas, a kind of gathering place for ceremonies.   T-formede døre var typiske for indianske bygninger. T-shaped doors were very typical for Indian buildings.

Den største af klipperuinerne med omkring 150 rum. The largest of the cliff dwellings with about 150 rooms.   Endnu en kiva ~ Another kiva

Det er uvist, hvorfor indianere forlod Mesa Verde omkring 1300, men det er muligt, de flyttede på grund af tørke. It is uncertain, why the Indians left Mesa Verde around 1300, but it is possible they left because of a drought.

Sprækker i klippevæggene blev udnyttet, så der i mange tilfælde kun skulle bygges én væg, for at lave et rum. Cracks in the cliff walls were utilized so that in many instances it was only necessary to build one wall to make a room.

Denne bygning kaldes ildtemplet, og blev sandsynligvis brugt til dans og ceremonier. This building is called the fire temple and was likely used for dancing and ceremonies.

Fortsæt turen ~ Continue the trip More Colorado Travel Information Here YESTERDAY A BIT LATER