Mesa Verde National Park's archaeological sites spans over 700 years of Native American history from 600 - 1300 CE. The renowned cliff dwellings, the height of the Puebloans' architecture, include more than 600 alcove sites. Balcony House overlooks Soda Canyon, about 700 feet above the narrow and rugged canyon. The canyon provided a number of important resources used in the everyday lives of the Ancestral Puebloan people. The site contains numerous buildings comprised of 40 rooms, and gets its name from its well preserved balcony. Balconies were common in the cliff dwellings, although only a few have survived to this day. There were not only access points into the second story of the buildings but also spaces used for work or drying food. A common feature in ancestral pueblo sites are kivas, also found at the Balcony house. These were circular subterranean structures that were used for both religious rituals and political meetings. While larger kivas were likely the social center for the whole community, smaller ones were the ritual and social center for specific families. 