Possible Reasons for the Mysterious Migration of a Great Civilization

The Ancestral Puebloans existed in what is called the Four Corners region of the southwestern United States: Colorado, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. For 1200 years, Ancestral Puebloan tribes lived and flourished in this region, but sometime after the 1300s, they vanished without cause or explanation.

The first known settlement was located at Mesa Verde (Green Table) around 550 AD. This was a significant time for the Ancestral Puebloans because they transitioned from being nomadic, moving from one place to another often, to a people settling and finding means to survive and thrive in one location.

They became skilled at basket making, the reason they are often referred to as Basketmakers. Other skills they acquired were making pottery and updating weaponry. They developed the bow and arrow, which complemented a spear-like weapon called the atlatl. Their homes also advanced. Their settlements consisted of pithouses that existed on the mesa (table) or in the recesses of cliffs. These pithouses were clustered together to form small villages.

Two hundred years passed before the Puebloans began constructing upright houses made from mud and poles. Sometimes, pithouses would be constructed in the front or back of the house. However, by 1000 AD, Ancestral Puebloan home construction would advance again. Skillful stone masonry replaced pole-and-adobe construction. These buildings were sometimes two and three stories high and joined together, comprising 50 rooms or more.

By this time, the Ancestral Puebloans had become agriculture experts, knowing how to cultivate crops by knowing the field. In addition, they became skillful at various crafts, including making jewelry, ceramics, and woven fabrics. They also mastered constructing sophisticated irrigation systems, building sacred monuments, and inscribing ritualistic rock art.

At the height of their civilization, the Ancestral Puebloans left with apparently no explanation. Today’s researchers posit that the disappearance of the tribes was due to both push and pull factors.

Many believe one of the major reasons these peoples fled this region was because of drought. Though researchers have proven that the Ancestral Puebloans experienced drought during other eras but chose to remain in the area, a drought in the late 1200s might have triggered other events. This drought interfered with crop yields, culminating in reliance on hunting. Wild animals as a food source had been depleted, which might have resulted in warring due to competition for resources. Ultimately, these two combined events pushed people out of the area.

Pull factors moving Ancestral Puebloans out of the area included finding other, stable communities with irrigable land, a larger labor force, and predictable rainfall. Some researchers believe this group emigrated from the Four Corners region because they sought spiritual renewal after being displaced. They joined dancing cults, beginning the appearance of the kachina groups.

Ultimately, researchers believe more than one event caused the disappearance of the Ancestral Puebloans from this area. These events formed the push factor of social and environmental factors and promises of better beginnings elsewhere. As is the case with most migration of great people, it may be explained as another evolution of a civilization.