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ABOUT The Anasazi built cliff dwellings before the 13th century. One of the oldest of the important cliff dwellings, Keet Seel, was originally inhabited around 950. Redesigned in 1272 to include 160 rooms, it is the second largest cliff dwelling. The largest is Mesa Verde's Cliff Palace. During the 13th century, for reasons that are still debated, the Ancient Ones focused almost exclusively on cliff dwellings. In a single 100-year period, they built and occupied most of the existing cliff-side structures that have captivated modern viewers. Some archeologists suggest that, by living in the canyons rather than on the mesas, the Anasazi made more land available for cultivation in a century that saw two major droughts. Others believe that cliff dwellings were built as protection against some unidentified enemy. Cliff dwellings are not the only Anasazi architectural structures that invite our curiosity, awe and interest. Especially in the Mesa Verde and Northern San Juan Basin areas, the Old Ones built round, square and D-shaped towers several stories tall, apparently intended for non-residential use. One of the possible uses of these towers was for communications. Messages could be transmitted by a communications technician using a mica "mirror" to reflect the sun and signal from the top of a tower to a technician on a tower in a nearby village. Some modern scientists and native elders suggest that towers were also used for astronomical observations. Following the appearance of Haley's Comet in 1066 and solar eclipses in 1076 and 1097, five astronomical observatories were built at Chaco. Many others were built elsewhere in the Four Corners Area.
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