Ancestral Pueblo
1. SW Ancient Civilization
2. Anasazi AD 750-900 First Anasazi
3. State four corners of Arizona, New Mexico,
Colorado, and Utah
Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi)
Homes
1. The first Ancestral Puebloans were said to
have been searching for water and settled in
places called Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and
Kayenta.
2. The first Anasazi (Ancestral Puebloans) lived
in pit houses. Later, they lived in cliff dwellings.
Cliff Dwellings
1. Anasazi cliff dwellings were built into the sides of cliffs.
2. The cliff dwellings were built out of adobe bricks.
3. The dwellings were built high up into the cliff sides to
protect the people from their enemies.
Pit Houses
1. Pit houses were underground houses that were almost like a big
hole in the ground in which the Ancestral Pueblo (Anasazi) lived.
2. The home was about 10 feet deep into the ground and open on
top. Long carved sticks were placed over the top to partially cover
the hole. A ladder was used to climb in and out of the house.
YouTube Video “Ancestral Puebloans” National Park Service (Inside Canyonlands)
Mesa Verde, Colorado
1. Most Anasazi believed that the religious priests were
higher up and in charge.
2. The farmers and all others were commoners and lower
status.
Later in the late 1400’s the Spanish came and
renamed the Anasazi, The Pueblo, which
means town in Spanish.
The people of the pueblo were called
pueblos. People of the Anasazi tribes
disappeared in the early 1400s and no one
really know why.
Kayenta National Park, Utah, Arizona, and Colorado
1. Chaco Canyon Anasazi (Ancestral Pueblo)
civilizations from long ago. 800 years old.
What did the Anasazi (Ancestral Pueblo) eat?
PROBLEM! Since they lived in the dry and hot
SW where the four corner states of Arizona,
Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet, it was
very difficult to grow crops!
They grew corn, beans, and squash.
They hunted rabbits, snakes, and some early
prairie dogs. (sometimes elk and deer)
Dry Farming and Irrigation
Irrigation- a way of bringing water to crops through pipes or
ditches.
How did the Anasazi irrigate their crops? The Anasazi did
not have enough rainfall to provide enough water for their
crops so they dug ditches from any water source they could
find such as a river or lake and then the water could flow
from that source to their crops. They also used dry farming
for irrigation. They would dig holes and line them with stone.
They would store water there from rainfall to use for the
crops.
Ditches dug for irrigation for the crops
Stone lined pits to collect water - dry farming
Anasazi Cliff Dwellings
Pithouses
Anasazi traded turquoise for items that
they needed.
Kivas were used for religious
celebrations. This is about 700 yrs. old