<P> In addition to the fine basketry for which they were named, Basketmaker II people fashioned a variety of household items from plant and animal materials, including sandals, robes, pouches, mats, and blankets . They also made clay pipes and gaming pieces . Basketmaker men were relatively short and muscular, averaging less than 5.5 feet (1.7 m) tall . Their skeletal remains reveal signs of hard labor and extensive travel, including degenerative joint disease, healed fractures, and moderate anemia associated with iron deficiency . They buried their dead near or amongst their settlements, and often included luxury items as gifts, which might indicate differences in relative social status . Basketmaker II people are also known for their distinctive rock art, which can be found throughout Mesa Verde . They depicted animals and people, in both abstract and realistic forms, in single works and more elaborate panels . A common subject was the hunchbacked flute player that the Hopi call Kokopelli . </P> <P> By 500, CE atlatls were being supplanted by the bow and arrow and baskets by pottery, marking the end of the Basketmaker II Era and the beginning of the Basketmaker III Era . Ceramic vessels were a major improvement over pitch - lined baskets, gourds, and animal hide containers, which had been the primary water storage containers in the region . Pottery also protected seeds against mold, insects, and rodents . By 600, Mesa Verdeans were using clay pots to cook soups and stews . Year - round settlements first appear around this time . The population of the San Juan Basin increased markedly after 575, when there were very few Basketmaker III sites in Mesa Verde; by the early 7th century, there were many such sites in the mesa . For the next 150 years, villages typically consisted of small groups of one to three residences . The population of Mesa Verde c. 675 was approximately 1,000 to 1,500 people . </P> <P> Beans and new varieties of corn were introduced to the region c. 700 . By 775, some settlements had grown to accommodate more than one hundred people; the construction of large, above - ground storage buildings began around this time . Basketmakers endeavored to store enough food for their family for one year, but also retained residential mobility so they could quickly relocate their dwellings in the event of resource depletion or consistently inadequate crop yields . By the end of the 8th century, the smaller hamlets, which were typically occupied for ten to forty years, had been supplanted by larger ones that saw continuous occupation for as many as two generations . Basketmaker III people established a tradition of holding large ceremonial gatherings near community pit structures . </P> <P> 750 marks the end of the Basketmaker III Era and the beginning of the Pueblo I period . The transition is characterized by major changes in the design and construction of buildings and the organization of household activities . Pueblo I people doubled their capacity for food storage from one year to two and built interconnected, year - round residences called pueblos . Many household activities that had previously been reserved for subterranean pithouses were moved to these above - ground dwellings . This altered the function of pithouses from all - purpose spaces to ones used primarily for community ceremonies, although they continued to house large extended families, particularly during winter months . During the late 8th century, Mesa Verdeans began building square pit structures that archaeologists call proto kivas . They were typically 3 or 4 feet (0.91 or 1.22 m) deep and 12 to 20 feet (3.7 to 6.1 m) wide . </P>

Who lived in the mesa verde cliff dwellings