Lines of holes and small caves along the cliff-face of the Pajartio Mesa stand testament to the Ancestral Pueblo people who resided in the Frijoles Canyon area in the twelfth century. The National Parks Service now protects the remains of these ancient Native American dwellings in Bandelier National Monument. Visitors to the park can see the archeological remains of the Long House, a cliff dwelling of notable size, just a few hundred feet from the Frijoles Creek.

The Long House stretched nearly seven hundred feet, rose four stories high, and may have one point had as many as 217 rooms. Those who built the Long House used the cliff-face as support for their structures. The smaller holes along the walls, known as viga holes, indicate how high the Ancestral Pueblo people built their homes, whereas the larger cave-like holes, called cavates, provided the dwelling with an extra room. A park visitor might find themselves surprised at the small spacing between the floors of the Long House, but the average Ancestral Pueblo male only grew to five feet five inches and women only grew to five feet.

Those living in the Long House endured hard physical labor in order to provide for the community. The Ancestral Pueblo people worked together, always keeping the good of the group as their first priority. However, they could not overcome the pressures of overpopulation, limitations of resources, and environmental changes, and the community relocated to a pueblo closer to the Rio Grande in the fourteen century.