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https://www.theamericansouthwest.com/gila-cliff-dwellings-national-monument The Gila Cliff Dwellings is a remote National Monument in the Gila National Forest area of south central western New Mexico. Its remoteness and beauty make it one of my favorite little spots in the Land of Enchantment. But it’s also quite the mystery. The ruins and Monument lie 45 miles north of Silver City on highway 15 and the drive through the forest and the mountains on the Mountain Spirits Trail is one of my favorites with its many twists and turns through a green landscape.
The Gila Cliff Dwellings were discovered in 1878 by some prospectors in the middle of the Gila Wilderness of the Mogollon Mountains; a place not far from where Geronimo the Apache warrior medicine man was born. Only four years later, in 1884, Adolph Bandelier came and inspected the intriguing site. Unfortunately in the six years since its discovery, the site had been heavily looted and vandalized. Including but not limited to burning the roofs with the original timber, pulling down walls, digging numerous pits in search of relics and pots, and more. Regardless, some information was still able to be gleaned about the interesting site.
The first occupation of the massive cave was around AD500 when it was mostly used as a rock shelter to hide from the elements. It may have had some significant cultural landscape value but that’s hard to determine as of now. What is known is that it was used throughout the years as a shelter where fires were built. It is believed there’s just too much built up soot on the roof of the cave to be from the 11 years the Cliff Dwellings were occupied.
Their occupation began in 1276, when a different people, a people other than the surrounding Mimbres cultural people, possibly northerners, began to occupy the cave. They built extensively for 11 years until 1287 when they up and left the cave and the region. They left in the middle of constructing new rooms and even floors. After 1287, there was no remodeling which suggests it was not occupied again. The people came, they built, and they left.
The site was planned seemingly by outsiders who selected the location, built it up quickly for about 8 to 10 families consisting of 40 to 60 people. They all came in at once, built their dwellings, began building some additions, and then vanished seemingly overnight. They left stores of corn. They left unfinished rooms.
The Mogollon people, of which the Mimbres are a part of, are tricky. Archaeologists certainly have distinct definitions of them but I cannot help but link their later phases with the northern Anasazi. The Anasazi were a people systematically leaving their northern Four Corners homes and heading south to Paquime (or east to the Rio Grande but those are known as Ancestral Puebloans). Wether the Anasazi were following that elusive Chaco Meridian or not is only able to be speculated over. I tend to believe the Anasazi were heading south and gathering as many people as they could on their way. Wether it was the Mimbres, the Mogollon, the Hohokam, or others, they did not mind who joined and they took anyone willing (and unwilling) to go south with them. As long as… they followed some cultural rules. Which rules included T-shaped doors and the proliferation of corn.
There was so much corn left behind at the Gila Cliff Dwellings that multiple archaeologists, travelers, soldiers, and prospectors have commented on its appearance. You can still see the massive amount of cobs today!
When I last explored the site I was fascinated by something I hadn’t noticed the first time. Probably because I wasn’t looking for it. But the presence in Cave 4 of the square tower transported me far to the north, around the Four Corners. Hovenweep and other sites came to mind. The ranger in the shelter also shared my curiosity about the tower and how out of place it seemed. One researcher suggested it was a smoke house for making jerked meat but I am not sure I buy that explanation.
Another anomaly at the site was the abundance of marine shell ornaments. There was an exceptionally large and diverse amount of marine shells that were used as pendants, ornaments, bells, bracelets, and more. Of note is the fact that Paquime was a major manufacturer and distributor of these same type of shell ornaments. These shells apparently can come from the three sources one would think: The Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of California, and the Pacific Ocean. But again, the key is Paquime. The shells arrived from the south. At a place that these people were most likely heading towards. At the same time they were convincing their Mimbres neighbors to follow. Convincing or enslaving.
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