Indians living in Colorado in apartment houses before Columbus came to America?

Impossible, you say. But it was true. Their "apartments" were rooms built inside of caves on the sides of steep cliffs.

When you visit Mesa Verde National Park today, you can see how these Indians lived—how their pottery looked, what weapons they had, how they ground their corn, where they worshipped. You can visit Spruce Tree House and see the tiny dark rooms shared by each family. You can inspect Sun Temple where the Indians probably held their festivals. You can marvel at the daring of the women who had to climb up the walls of a canyon, balancing jugs of water on their heads. You can crawl through another cliff dwelling called Balcony House.

When you leave Mesa Verde, you wonder how and why the Indians ever left this place. Did their enemies attack them? What did happen? Nobody will ever know for certain, but it is interesting to make your own guesses.

From the dust jacket