Archeologists learn about past human behavior mostly through studying technology. As archeologists uncover settlements of different ages, as here on Wetherill Mesa, they can compare patterns in architecture, tools, and village layout and note how these changed through time. From these things, archeologists can infer how societies organized to carry out the tasks of life and how they reorganized when necessary to meet life’s challenges.

In their interpretations of the past, archeologists do not always agree with one another. There is no reason why they should. The evidence is always incomplete and often difficult to understand....