Indians of the Mesa Verde

by Don Watson

The Great Pueblo period was a remarkable climax to the many centuries of cultural development which we have just witnessed. As we study it, however, one significant fact is obvious. It was a period of regimentation with the people moving in certain well established grooves. Artists and craftsmen were highly skilled but they all followed the same patterns. There was little tendency on the part of the individual to strike out by himself and develop new things. Individual initiative was not strong and the religious and social life probably was rigidly regulated.

As archeologists endeavor to reconstruct the events of the Great Pueblo period they are confronted with some puzzling problems concerning the general way of life of the people. During the period the architectural layout of the villages changed, the villages increased in size and their location changed. In addition, the population began to decline and great areas which had long been occupied were deserted. At first glance it would seem that adverse conditions were affecting the people but more work must be done before all of the problems can be solved.

At the beginning of the period the population was widely scattered and most of the villages were small unit pueblos which have already been mentioned. The fact that the people lived in small scattered villages would in itself indicate that no danger threatened. Even more indicative of peaceful times is the fact that the kiva was located outside the village walls. The kiva, an underground room, was used primarily by the men. The only exit was a small hatchway in the roof and through this only one man could emerge at a time. If a raiding party had surprised a small village while the men were in the kiva during a ceremony or at night the results would have been tragic.

Early in the Great Pueblo period the people began to change the location of the kiva. Soon, in most cases at least, the kiva was placed inside the village and was surrounded by the houses. No longer was the underground room a death trap in case of a surprise raid.

At about the same time tall round towers came into use. Sometimes they were built at the outer walls of the pueblo but very often the tower was built beside the kiva and was connected with it by an underground tunnel. The round tower, which stood higher than the rest of the village, would have served admirably as a lookout tower and connecting it with the men’s room would seem a natural development. It has been suggested that the tower may have had some ceremonial use since it was connected with the kiva. More practical, however, is the idea that it was a watch tower which resulted from a defensive need. Or, if one wishes to avoid taking sides, perhaps it served both purposes.

Whatever was affecting the people now seems to have caused life in small villages to be less desirable for as we move farther into the Great Pueblo period we see the pueblos increase in size. It is true that some small pueblos were still in use but one of the outstanding characteristics of the period was the concentration of the population in pueblos of great size.

An excellent example of this concentration is to be seen in the great Montezuma Valley which lies to the north and west of the Mesa Verde. At an earlier date the Pueblo Indians who occupied this valley lived in many small villages. During the Great Pueblo period the people seem to have banded together to form large communities. A number of enormous pueblos were constructed and in many cases they were built around the springs which supplied water for the populace.

In the Mesa Verde the trend was the same. At the beginning of the period the people lived in numerous small pueblos. After a time they began to band together and toward the end of the twelfth century large pueblos were being built on the mesa tops and in the broad, shallow drainages at the heads of canyons. In some cases several small pueblos were built close together while in other cases several small pueblos were clustered around one or more large ones.

The next change was the most radical of all. About 1200 A.D., the people began to desert the mesa tops and within a short time cliff dwellings were built in almost every cave in the Mesa Verde. Shallow caves were available in great numbers for the mesa contains a score of large canyons. The exact number of cliff dwellings is not known but probably there are as many as six or eight hundred in the canyons of the Mesa Verde.

The events of the Great Pueblo period seem to indicate that the people were faced with some danger which was not present during the earlier periods. The change from small to large pueblos indicates a need for security and the final move to the caves must indicate a definite need for defense. Hundreds of the caves were high on the cliff faces and many of them were additionally fortified with defensive walls.