You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find information on these ruins—but I’ll tell you what I know for sure, and give you what I think with a healthy dose of speculation and educated guesses.
Many ruins are slowly being unearthed in the region, while many remain completely buried under centuries of dirt, waiting to be found. This is the largest site to be uncovered in the area and has undergone significant restoration (with some bad choices, in my opinion).
It’s hard to know with 100% certainly the natives who lived here. My suspicion is the Ancestral Pueblo, also known as the Anasazi. The Anasazi occupied much of the Colorado Plateau—this site falls within the most southern margins of this territory. We found significant amounts of pottery sherds resembling the Anasazi’s Black-on-White designs around the dwelling, and the surrounding area.
The Mogollon occupied the region immediately to the south, and there is some similarities between their cultures, structures, pottery, etc—it is possible the Mogollon occupied this site, instead.
Many of the ruins you see today tend to be found on hilltops or cliff dwellings. However, the earliest, and often times hardest to find, were built much closer to the ground, like this one. There are competing theories as to what drove them to the hills. One of the prevailing theories suggest the arrival of the Apache was to blame, as they were hostile to other tribes. Evidence of these transitions can be found across the four corners of the southwest.
I’ll be sure to give an update if more information becomes available. ?
