Indians of the Mesa Verde

by Don Watson

The effect of pottery upon the food habits of the people was profound. With vessels that could be placed directly on the fire whole new lines of food were available. Soups, stews, porridges and greens became commonplace. Many new plants were utilized and innumerable combinations of meats and plants were discovered. Pottery was also of great value for water storage. Baskets were not good for this because the moisture soon caused them to disintegrate. Pottery lasted indefinitely and each woman could make an unlimited number of large water jars. On rainy days every jar in the village could be filled and the terrors of drouth were lessened.

Thus it is easily seen that the perfection of pottery was one of the major steps in the progress of the Indians. The diet was improved, the drudgery of cooking was lessened, the range of foods was widened, storage facilities were increased and the entire domestic economy of the people took a decided turn for the better.

At first the pottery was crude but with each succeeding generation it improved. The proper percentage of temper and clay was discovered, designs were introduced and improved upon and vessel shapes became more graceful and efficient. As time passed the fingers of the potters became more and more deft.

The adoption of a permanent house was also of great importance. Life in the open caves was never too comfortable. Heavy rains, deep snows and the bitter temperatures of winter held certain terrors for the people who were without actual dwellings. No great population could ever grow under such conditions. A permanent, secure house was needed to stabilize the culture.

As we have already seen, the Basket Makers in at least one area began to experiment with permanent houses at an early date. It is not yet known whether these earliest houses developed into the standardized pithouses which spread widely over the area early in Modified Basket Maker times but we may be quite sure the people did not develop it entirely by themselves. Similar pithouses were used by Indians in many parts of America, in fact they can be traced up the northwest coast and on to Alaska and Siberia. Since this type of house was used so widely it is probable that the Basket Makers borrowed the idea from some neighboring tribe.

The dwellings were pithouses, partially above and partially below the ground. The underground portion consisted of a shallow pit two or three feet in depth and ten to twenty feet in diameter. Sometimes the earthen walls were plastered with clay, or if the walls had a tendency to cave they were lined with stone slabs. In the floor, forming a large square, four holes were dug and a forked post slightly higher than a man’s head was set upright in each. Four slender logs were placed in the forks of these posts forming a square framework, the main support of the roof. Slender poles were slanted from the edge of the pit to this framework at twelve or fifteen inch intervals, entirely around the room. Other poles were placed across the flat, top portion to complete the skeleton of the roof.

To this framework was lashed a solid covering of reeds, brush, bark or coarse grass and the entire roof was covered with a layer of earth several inches thick. A small hatchway was left in the center of the roof. This served as a smoke hole and it was often equipped with a ladder and used as an entrance. The firepit was in the center of the room below the smoke hole.

Since the pithouse needed ventilation a tunnel was dug through the south wall and brought to the surface a few feet south of the house. Sometimes this tunnel served merely as a ventilator and crawl entrance but usually the end was enlarged into a room. This second room was always smaller than the main room but it was roofed in much the same manner. In reality a house of this type consisted of the large main room and a smaller antechamber, the two being connected by a tunnel. The location of the antechamber door is uncertain. Probably there was a hatchway in the roof or there may have been a door in one of the side walls. It is certain that the fire in the main room drew fresh air from the antechamber for just in front of the tunnel entrance was placed a large stone slab which served as a deflector. This slab kept the current of fresh air from blowing across the fire and, in the winter, prevented cold air from sweeping across the floor where people were sleeping.

The sipapu, a small hole in the floor near the firepit, made its appearance at this time. This feature has continued in use to the present day for some of the modern Pueblo Indians have similar holes in the floors of their kivas. It serves as a symbolic entrance to the Mother Earth and its importance is indicated by the fact that it has persisted for so many centuries.

Many of the earliest pithouses, perhaps the very first ones, were built in caves. The people had used the caves for centuries and it was only natural that they should build houses there. Within a short time, however, there was a movement toward the open country and soon pithouse villages were being built on the mesa tops and in open valleys. The caves, although they provided shelter from the winter’s storms, were cold and uncomfortable for the sun shone in only a few hours each day. With substantial houses the people no longer feared the rigors of winter and life in the open was far more pleasant than in the cold, shadowy caves. By the seventh century most of the people seem to have moved out of the caves and they were seldom used until the time when the cliff dwellings were built.