The Ancestral Puebloan peoples (formerly known as the Anasazi) were agriculturalists who lived in the Four Corners region of the southwestern US from the twelfth century BCE until the arrival of the Spanish in 1540 CE. Cultural traits common to the Ancestral Puebloan peoples include dependence on maize cultivation, construction of pueblos (multi-room, multi-story, domestic complexes), and the use of kivas (subterranean ceremonial chambers). The Ancestral Puebloan culture is best known for the sandstone and adobe dwellings its people built along cliff walls, from ca. 900 to 1350 CE. Spectacular examples can be seen at Mesa Verde in southwestern Colorado and Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. The Ancestral Puebloan peoples also produced turquoise and shell jewelry and distinctive black-on-white ceramics with geometric motifs. Web resources here and here.

The “Cliff Palace” at Mesa Verde. Ancestral Puebloan. Ca. 450–1300 CE. Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.