Prehistoric Indians of the Southwest

by H. M. Wormington

Some of the living rooms in the pueblo bear evidence of Mesa Verde workmanship, and almost 95% of the pottery is of the Mesa Verde type. This gave rise to the belief that Aztec was a hybrid settlement of people of both cultures. Excavation proved that the explanation was not quite so simple. The original builders of the Pueblo and Great [Kiva] had Chacoan connections. They occupied the Pueblo for many years, then, taking their possessions with them, they moved away. Why they left, or where they went, we do not know. For a long time the Pueblo was abandoned, then a group of Mesa Verde people arrived and moved in. They changed and modified many of the rooms in accordance with their own customs. The rooms which they built were smaller and the masonry was of the typical Mesa Verde type, as was the pottery. After this immigration the great house was occupied for a long time. At first the people were quite prosperous, but eventually there came a period of depression and disintegration. Building techniques became progressively worse, and there was an equal deterioration in pottery making. Living quarters were no longer cleaned. Many women and children died, and, when they were buried few, if any, mortuary offerings were placed with them. The end came when the pueblo was intentionally fired and destroyed. Whether this was done by the people themselves, or by enemies who attacked them when they were no longer able to defend themselves, we do not know.

In the vicinity of Kayenta, Arizona, which lies to the south of the San Juan and west of both Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon, was a third cultural center with far-reaching influences.[3][73] Here are found both cliff houses and pueblos in the open. Two of the largest and most famous cliff dwellings are Keet Seel and Betatakin. These were among the last of the great houses of the San Juan area to be occupied. Tree-ring dates for Betatakin range between 1260 and 1277, and those for Keet Seel between 1274 and 1284. By the latter date the remainder of the northern frontier had been almost entirely deserted.

The masonry throughout was quite inferior. It was somewhat better in the open sites, which were characterized by loose aggregations of houses, than in the cliff houses. On the whole, masonry was marked by the use of irregularly shaped stones, inaccurate coursing, and the use of great quantities of adobe mortar. Also, wattlework walls, that is, walls formed of upright poles through which were interwoven smaller sticks, were quite common. One of the chief differences between the Kayenta area and other cultural centers lies in the kivas. In open sites and in some cliff houses, of which Bat Woman House is a good example, only circular kivas are found, but they lack the pilasters characteristic of such structures in other sections. At Keet Seel there are some kivas, but many of the ceremonial structures are of another type, sometimes called kihus. These are square above-ground chambers which contain the characteristic fire pits and deflectors of kivas, but have a door instead of an air shaft. At Betatakin this is the only type of ceremonial room.

Pottery from this area differs in many respects from that of the eastern sites. [Corrugated pottery] was made, but it displays poorer workmanship and less graceful shapes than examples from Chaco and Mesa Verde. Black-on-white ware was excellent, with a good paste and a clear [slip]. The decoration is fine and quite distinctive. Elaborate patterns, primarily interlocking keys, frets, and spirals, were used. The elements, painted in black, are so close together and so heavy that little of the white background shows and a negative design results, giving the impression of a white design on a black background. What little of the white background does appear is often hatched or cross-hatched, giving what has been described as a “mosquito bar” effect. The principal forms were ollas, bowls, and ladles. Seed jars and small handled jugs were also made, but they were not as common. An important form was the colander, a type of utensil which was confined to this [culture].

Fig. 34—Black-on-white pottery from the Kayenta area. Great-Pueblo period. (Courtesy Museum of Northern Arizona.)

The most distinctive Kayenta pottery was a polychrome ware on which, as the name implies, multiple colors were used. The base color was orange or yellow, and designs were applied in black, red, and white paint. There was a wide use of broad, red bands outlined in black or in black and white. Coarse [hatchures] divided into groups, with other design elements between the groups, were quite common. There was an abundance of this ware, although bowls and small handled jugs were the only forms represented.

Very few burials have been found in the cliff houses. A small number have been uncovered in unoccupied sections of the caves, in the talus slope in front, and in small shelters nearby. In open sites closely flexed bodies accompanied by mortuary pottery have been found in oval pits dug in the rubbish heaps.

Although attention is naturally centered on the San Juan region, where the Great Pueblo [culture] had its most spectacular development and where the most extensive excavations have been carried on, the remainder of the Plateau Province cannot be overlooked.

Sixteen miles from Zuñi, in the Little Colorado drainage, is a famous site, known as the “Village of the Great Kivas.”[108] Here were found three communal dwellings and two Great Kivas. Of the latter, only one has been excavated. It was bordered with rooms but had no true peripheral chambers. Both are larger than the Great [Kiva] at Aztec. The one which has been excavated is fifty-one feet in diameter, and the unexcavated one is seventy-five feet across. In addition to these structures and some small kivas associated with the largest building, there were two rectangular rooms with kiva features. These are similar to the fraternity chambers used in Zuñi at the present time. The construction of the village was begun in the eleventh century by people with a Chacoan [culture]. After a time, due to the arrival of new people, the community increased in size. It is thought that these people came from the south, possibly from the Upper Gila region.