To the person who views a cliff dwelling for the first time the most
interesting feature is the underground ceremonial room. Modern Hopi
Indians call these rooms “kivas,” and this term is commonly used. The
kivas in Mesa Verde cliff dwellings developed from earlier pithouses and
exhibit a high degree of standardization. Although there are occasional
variations almost all Mesa Verde kivas contain the same standard
features. Kivas are thought to have been used chiefly by the men and
served as combination ceremonial rooms, club rooms, council chambers and
workshops.
[Illustration: No. 1.
Mesa Verde kivas were underground rooms, usually circular or roughly
circular in shape. The log and adobe roof covered the room completely
except for the small hatchway in the center. Secrecy was thus provided
for events that took place in the kivas. The hatchway in the roof served
not only as an entrance but also as a smoke hole for the small fire that
burned below. Usually the hatchway was the only entrance but a few kivas
had side tunnels leading to nearby rooms. As will be explained later,
the kiva roof was one of the most important areas in a cliff dwelling
for it formed a large open court. Most of the daily activities of the
people took place in these courts. The kiva pictured is in Spruce Tree
House. The roof has been reconstructed to show the original appearance.]
[Illustration: No. 2.
The kiva pictured here contains all features common to the kivas of the
Mesa Verde ruins. Warmth and light were provided by a fire that burned
in the large pit in the floor. The hatchway in the roof served as a
smoke hole. As the smoke and warm air rose through the hatchway, fresh
air was drawn down the ventilator shaft. The small hole at the top of
the picture is the opening of a vertical ventilator shaft which extended
down to the rectangular opening at the base of the wall. Between the
firepit and the ventilator a stone slab served as a deflector, keeping
the fresh air current from blowing across the fire. The low shelf around
the kiva wall served as storage space for articles of all types. The low
pilasters on this shelf, usually six in number, supported a log and
adobe roof. Note that the shelf is wider on the far wall, next to the
ventilator shaft. The use of this deeper recess, which was usually more
or less toward the south, is not known. In the back wall of this recess
were two small niches which served as storage space for small articles.
The one remaining feature is the small hole in the floor in front of the
firepit. This same feature exists today in the kivas of some of the
present-day Indians. It is called the “sipapu” and serves as a symbolic
entrance to the Mother Earth.]
[Illustration: No. 1.
The kiva roof was supported by an ingenious framework of cribbed logs.
As was mentioned above, six low stone pillars usually were constructed
on the bench that encircled the kiva. Short logs were laid from pillar
to pillar forming a circle of logs entirely around the room. A second
circle of logs was placed on the first, with the logs cutting the angles
in the first set. Another and another circle of logs was added—in the
kiva pictured there were eight layers of logs altogether. As the circles
rose they grew smaller and a dome effect was created. Finally logs were
placed across the opening and a covering layer of adobe completed the
roof. While this was an ingenious method, the roofs had a serious
weakness. The entire weight of the roof rested on the first layer of
logs. When one of these logs broke, the entire roof usually collapsed.
As a result few of the kiva roofs are in place today. The one pictured
is in Square Tower House.]
[Illustration: No. 2.
This kiva, which is in Cliff Palace, exhibits masonry of the highest
quality. The smooth, sharp corners of the three pilasters, the true
rectangular wall niches, the smooth plaster and the tamped adobe floor
were the work of skilled craftsmen.]