On the theory that this building was erected by people from several
neighboring cliff dwellings for ceremonies held in common, we may suppose
that the builders came daily from their dwellings in Cliff Palace and
other houses and returned at night, after they had finished work, to
their homes. The trails down the sides of the cliffs which the workmen
used are still to be seen. The place was frequented by many people, but
there is no evidence that any one clan dwelt near this mysterious
building during its construction.
The argument that cliff dwellers in the neighborhood built Sun Temple and
that incoming aliens had nothing to do with its construction seems very
strong. The architectural differences between it and Cliff Palace are not
objections, for the architectural form of Sun Temple may be regarded as a
repetition, in the open, of a form of building that developed in a cliff
house; the rounded north wall conforms with the rear of a cave and the
straight south wall reproduces the front of a cliff dwelling. The recess
midway in the south wall of Sun Temple could be likened without forcing
the comparison to a similar recess which occurs at the main entrance into
Cliff Palace.
Sun Temple was not built by an alien people, but by the cliff dwellers as
a specialized building mainly for religious purposes, and, so far as
known, is the first of its type recognized in the Mesa Verde area.