Station 2.
Spruce Tree House is typical of the larger cliff dwellings found in the Mesa Verde. It consists of several groups or blocks of rooms around open courts. Within each court is an underground ceremonial room called a kiva (Key-vah). Originally, there were flat roofs on these kivas. These roofs formed the courtyard floor and provided work space for daily activities. The rooms around the court were used primarily for sleeping and storage and for shelter against the cold of winter.
The rooms are generally small, averaging 6 by 8 feet and 5½ feet high. Floors and roofs of the second and third stories were made of large poles covered with smaller sticks, then bark or grass, and a thick layer of clay. A few of the rooms had fireplaces but most were without interior light or heat. Probably one family occupied a room.
Compare the picture of the First Court with the dwelling to locate the following:
A. These are unshaped building stones. Most of the building blocks used in the dwelling were carefully shaped by the Indians before they were set in place. The walls were built of stone with adobe clay as mortar, much as we would build with brick. When a wall was finished, it was often coated with a layer of clay plaster.
B. These were storage rooms.
C. Each room had individual doorways such as these.
D. Some rooms had ventilation openings or “windows” like this one.