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The round underground room, a bit over 45 feet in diameter at the floor, is a great kiva which served as a religious center. Its roof, supported by four rubble-filled masonry columns, was 9 feet 7 inches above the floor. Thirty-four niches around the wall above the upper bench may once have held offerings of jewelry and other valued materials, but were open and empty at the time of excavation. The chamber was entered at the north end by a series of stone steps. You may enter and examine in detail a great kiva across the canyon at Casa Rinconada.
Another great kiva in the west court, and the division of the plaza, suggests to some students that the people were divided into two groups, each group responsible for certain ceremonies at different times of the year—summer people and winter people—as is true of many of the Rio Grande pueblos today.
National Geographic painting by Peter V. Bianchi, February 1964