{{infobox|"Anasazi" or "Ancestral Puebloans"?|For decades, the people that once lived in these dwellings have generally been referred to as the "Anasazi". However, in recent years there has been an effort to stop referring to them as "Anasazi", as it is believed the term translates to "ancient enemy" or "enemy ancestor". Instead, the term "Ancestral Puebloans" is favored, and is the term you will see on most park displays and information signs. This is a fairly recent change though, so there is still a fair amount of confusion regarding the two terms.}}The name of the park is Spanish for "green table", referring to the vegetation found at the tops of the plateaus in this area. The Ancestral Puebloans chose Mesa Verde as their settlement 1,400 years ago, establishing small pithouses (large holes in the ground with a wooden roof overhead) on the mesa tops. Back then they were more nomadic, and hunted game with spears and were skilled basketmakers. Over time they began to farm the mesa tops, learned how to create pottery, and fashioned bows and arrows instead of spears.As the population grew, the Ancestral Puebloans moved from pithouses to pole-and-adobe houses built above ground. The pithouses became kivas (ceremonial rooms) as the mesa top villages became larger and more complex. Stone masonry replaced the poles and mud of earlier houses, as villages rose two or three stories high, became more compact, and had many rooms. During this time, pottery replaced baskets as a more desired craft.Around the year 1200, the Ancestral Puebloans began to move under overhangs found in the cliffs of the canyons. Here, they built cities with multi-storied structures that housed 100-400 people. However, the Ancestral Puebloans only used these incredible constructions for less than 100 years. By the year 1300, they had left the area for reasons unknown, traveling south into New Mexico and Arizona. http://wikitravel.org/en/Mesa Verde National Park