Few people lived in the Mesa Verde region at the beginning of the Pueblo II period. Most people had moved south at the end of the Pueblo I period because a drought had made it hard to grow corn. But as the climate improved in the A.D. 1000s, Pueblo farmers began returning to the Mesa Verde region. They settled on small farmsteads close to good soils.

In addition to small farmsteads, there were also much bigger sites that archaeologists think were important centers where many people gathered to trade and socialize. Archaeologists have found many interesting artifacts at these centers, including shell jewelry, copper bells, turquoise, and macaw feathers. The picture at the top of the page shows what one of these large sites might have looked like. As you can see, the buildings were more than one story tall.