Page "Ancient Pueblo Peoples" Paragraph 50

Not all of the people in the region lived in cliff dwellings ; many colonized the canyon rims and slopes in multi-family structures that grew to unprecedented size as populations swelled.

Decorative motifs for these sandstone / mortar constructions, both cliff dwellings and non -, included T-shaped windows and doors.

This has been taken by some archaeologists, such as Stephen Lekson ( 1999 ), as evidence of the continuing reach of the Chaco Canyon elite system, which had seemingly collapsed around a century before.

Other researchers see these motifs as part of a more generalized Puebloan style and / or spiritual significance, rather than evidence of a continuing specific elite socioeconomic system.