The Anasazi- The Ancient Pueblo Peoples of the Southwest In the centuries that led to the year 1000, Europe was emerging from chaos. Tribes roamed the countryside evoking fear from luckless peasants. The grandeur that was Rome had long passed. Across the Atlantic, the North American continent was also inhabited by tribes. The ANASAZI managed to build glorious cities in the cliffs of the modern Southwest. Their rise and fall mark one of the greatest stories of pre-Columbian American history. Anasazi means "ancient outsiders." Like many peoples during the agricultural era, the Anasazi employed a wide variety of means to grow high-yield crops in areas of low rainfall. Their baskets and pottery are highly admired by collectors and are still produced by their descendants for trade. It is their cliff dwellings, however, that captivate the modern archeologist, historian, and tourist. One component of the Anasazi community were the kivas. These structures were used for religious celebrations. This kiva is from the Sand Canyon Pueblo, Crow Canyon, in the Mesa Verde region and dates back to the 13th century. The Anasazi built their dwellings under overhanging cliffs to protect them from the elements. Using blocks of sandstone and a mud mortar, the tribe crafted some of the world's longest standing structures. The famed CLIFF DWELLINGS were built into the mountainsides with but one exit for the sake of defense. With the exception of hunting and growing food, all aspects of living could be performed within the dwelling. Deep pits were periodically dug within the living quarters. These pits, called KIVAS, served as religious temples for the ancient Anasazi. Sleeping areas were built into the sides of the cliffs. Even water could be gathered between the porous cracks in the walls — all by clever design, of course. Historians can only theorize why the Anasazi civilization declined. One explanation is attack by hostile tribes. Others believe the resources of the area were becoming exhausted. The durability of their structures has proven remarkable. Think of how our contemporary structures fall into utter disrepair without constant maintenance. The cliff dwellings have endured over eight hundred years of exposure to the elements and still stand proud. Today, the Hopi and Pueblo people in Arizona and New Mexico are the descendants of the Anasazi, the preferred name for these ancient people by their descendants is “Ancestral Pueblo”. The Anasazi are perhaps the most romanticized of the prehistoric Southwestern pueblo cultures. They lived thousands of years ago in arid, yet beautiful canyon country. They 'disappeared' or migrated to the larger southwestern Hopi, Zuni and other pueblos in about 1300 AD and left behind thousands of rock art paintings [pictographs] and carvings [petroglyphs] along with the stone dwellings and graineries [storage bins]. In later settlements like Mesa Verde (Colorado) and Bandelier (New Mexico) you can find their art on the walls of the cliffs they built their dwellings on. Questions Answer the questions after reading the article. All answers should be written in complete sentences. You should restate the question in your answer. 1. What region of the United States did the Anasazi call home? ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What two artifacts/items are they still known for and produce today?_________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. What is a kiva?________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. What makes their dwelling so unique?_____________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Explain the reason a dwelling might only have one exit.__________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Why do historians have to guess about why the culture declined? ______________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 7. What is the difference between a pictograph and a petroglyph? ________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________