The Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum is an
archaeological museum in
Montezuma County, Colorado, United States.
Situated within
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park is an American national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Montezuma County, Colorado. The park protects some of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites in the United States.
Established ...
, it is one of the main features of the
Mesa Verde Administrative District
Mesa Verde Administrative District is a set of six National Park Service buildings within Mesa Verde National Park, constructed between 1921 and 1927 in the Pueblo Revival style. Located on Chapin Mesa, these were the structures built by the Pa ...
, a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
since 1987.
Museum Building and History
Dating to 1922–1925, the
Pueblo Revival
The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México's traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions, and Territor ...
museum building, designed and constructed during the tenure of archeologist and park superintendent
Jesse L. Nusbaum, is an early example of "parkitecture" an informal name for park buildings intentionally designed to be aesthetically appropriate to and reflective of the natural environment and strong cultural traditions of the various natural parks. It is one of six park buildings created from local buff sandstone with projecting wood beams ("vigas"). The museum's construction was funded by donations from
John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller.
He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...
The museum is situated on Chapin Mesa on the Spruce Tree Loop, near Spruce Tree Canyon. The canyon rim behind the building offers a view of Spruce Tree House, one of the largest and best preserved
cliff dwelling
In archaeology, cliff dwellings are dwellings formed by using niches or caves in high cliffs, and sometimes with excavation or additions in the way of masonry.
Two special types of cliff dwelling are distinguished by archaeologists: the cliff ...
s in the park.
Museum collections
The museum offers a short film providing an overview of Mesa Verde National Park and the history of archeological work there as well as displays of artifacts including pottery, baskets, weavings, tools, household implements, and other archeological finds from the Mesa Verde region. It also features five dioramas that offer interpretations of prehistoric Mesa Verde and of the
Ancestral Puebloans in their daily lives spanning a period from 13,000 BCE to 1200 CE.
The dioramas were created by members of the
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
in the 1930s and are now themselves an important aspect of the park's history. In 2019, an initial thirty thousand dollar federal grant was awarded to the University of Colorado as part of the project for conserving the dioramas, upgrading the museum's display cases, and adding interactivity to exhibits. As part of the project to improve the exhibits, the IDIA Lab at Ball State University is developing an
augmented reality mobile app. When downloaded to a visitor's mobile device, the app will be capable of superimposing digital figures over the existing dioramas to bring the exhibitions to life and to offer a fuller and more accurate depiction of the Ancestral Pueblo people.
Renovations
As of October, 2021, the museum is temporarily closed to visitors for renovations.
See also
*
Frederick H. Chapin
*
National Park Service rustic "parkitecture"
References
External links
Archeological Sites at Mesa Verde
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Archaeological museums in Colorado
National Park Service museums
Mesa Verde National Park
National Park Service rustic in Colorado
Pueblo Revival architecture in Colorado