Evidence suggests that many people lived at or near Fort Ancient, over many centuries. Inside the enclosure, houses were found from the same period of time that the walls were being built. Everyday dwellings apparently existed within the sacred enclosure, but never crossed the line into the Foursquare area. These people also lived outside the enclosure, out to the northeast where the craft shops have been discovered.

The western arm of the South Fort was the primary occupation area for the later societies who lived here. At least off and on, between ll00 and 1550, there was a village here with a wooden stockade around it. These later people also had settlements down in the valley. But they had gone before the first pioneers arrived.

Computer reconstructed houses based on those found at Fort Ancient near the museum.