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Inarchaeology,cliff dwellings aredwellings formed by using niches or caves in highcliffs, and sometimes with excavation or additions in the way of masonry.Two special types of cliff dwelling are distinguished by archaeologists: thecliff-house, which is actually built on levels in the cliff, and thecavate, which is dug out, by using natural recesses or openings.[1]
Rock-cut architecture generally refers to rather grander temples, but also tombs, cut into rock, although for example theAjanta Caves in India, of the 2nd century BCE to 5th century CE, probably housed several hundredBuddhist monks and are cut into a cliff, as are theMogao Caves in China.
Famous cliff dwellings are found around the world. In China, theGuyaju Caves located nearDongmenying,Yanqing District,Beijing are acave complex of many rock hewn dwellings that form a community.[2] In the United States and Mexico, among the canyons of the southwest, inArizona,New Mexico,Utah,Colorado, andChihuahua, some cliff dwellings are still used byNative Americans. There has been considerable discussion as to their antiquity, but modern research finds no definite justification for assigning them to an earlier culture distinct from theancestors of the modernPueblo people.[citation needed] The area in which they occur coincides with that in which other traces of the Pueblo tribes have been found. The niches that were used are often of considerable size, occurring in cliffs up to a thousand feet in height, and approached by rock steps or log ladders.[1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cliff-dwellings".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 507.
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