Table of Contents
Josh Bernstein, in a film on the Chelsie Ying channel, asks why Southwest farmers left mesa tops in the thirteenth century, moved into walled or cliffside villages, and abandoned them within fifty years, belongings still in the rooms. A Hopi ranger at Mesa Verde counts the builders as ancestors and credits seep springs in the alcoves. Bernstein thinks that ignores the danger of an exposed ledge. Remote canyons show him towers and guarded springs, a defensive last phase. Some archaeologists add massacres and cannibalism. Native speakers reject that label. Chaco, already empty by 1150, brings tree ring evidence of a hard drought. A specialist says drought is only part of the collapse, beside population and a failing floodplain, because earlier dry years did not halt building. Bernstein also hears a guess that Chaco’s power had roots in Mexico. The film keeps water, fear, and hunger together.
Key points
- Bernstein asks why long settled farmers shifted onto cliffs in the thirteenth century and left within decades.
- A Hopi ranger links the alcoves to seep springs and counts the builders among Hopi ancestors.
- Remote towers and guarded springs are presented as signs of a defensive last phase.
- The film airs massacre and cannibalism claims and also the strong Native rejection of that label.
- Chaco is already empty by 1150, and tree rings make drought one factor beside population and floodplain stress.
Short quotes
the Hopi claimed the Anasazi are their ancestors
Josh Bernstein, Why the cliff villages were left
He reports the Hopi claim of ancestry at the start of the inquiry. Watch at 3:14
archaeologists believe the Anasazi supported 40 to 50,000 people in this area
Josh Bernstein, Why the cliff villages were left
He gives the scale of farming across the Four Corners before the cliff move. Watch at 5:59
Native Americans strongly object to their ancestors being characterized as cannibals
Josh Bernstein, Why the cliff villages were left
He marks the dispute over reading certain bones as evidence of cannibalism. Watch at 21:41
by 1150 the city was completely abandoned
Josh Bernstein, Why the cliff villages were left
The Chaco portion of the film dates an empty ceremonial center to 1150. Watch at 26:57
a lot of people think that drought caused the abandonment of the canyon
Josh Bernstein, Why the cliff villages were left
A tree ring specialist states the common drought explanation and then qualifies it. Watch at 30:04
Video by Chelsie Ying. Watch on YouTube.