Spruce Tree House has eight of the circular, subterranean rooms that
were set aside for ceremonial purposes. Similar rooms are still in use
in the present day Pueblo Indian villages and are known as kivas.
Usually the kiva roofs have collapsed, but in Square Tower House two
kivas have the original roofs almost intact. Following the plan of
these original roofs, three of the kivas in Spruce Tree House have
been reroofed. Details of construction may be noted by descending the
ladder into one of these restored kivas.
Kivas in the Mesa Verde are always underground and generally circular
in shape. The average diameter is 12 to 13 feet and the depth is such
that the roof would clear a man's head. At a point about 3 feet above
the floor is a narrow ledge running entirely around the room. This
ledge is known as the banquette and its exact use is unknown. On this
ledge were built six stone buttresses or pilasters, 2 to 3 feet in
height, which served as roof supports. Short beams were placed from
pilaster to pilaster around the room, and additional series of beams
were laid to span the angles formed by the lower series. Normally five
or six sets of beams extended this cribwork almost to the ground
level. Horizontal beams were then placed across the top and the whole
structure was covered with bark and earth. A small square hole in the
center of the roof provided an entrance which also served for a smoke
vent.
On the south side of the kiva the banquette is wider between two of
the pilasters than anywhere else around the room. This deep recess is
often referred to as an altar, although its exact use is not known.
Just back of the wall of this deep recess is a vertical shaft that
leads down to meet a horizontal shaft that opens into the kiva just
above the floor. This is the ventilator shaft. The fire, burning in
the small pit in the center of the room, sent the smoke up through the
hole in the roof, and the fresh air was drawn down through the
ventilator shaft. Between the ventilator and the fire pit a small
wall, known as the "deflector", was constructed to keep the fresh air
current from blowing on the fire.
Two or three feet from the fire pit, and in a straight line with the
ventilator shaft, the deep recess, the deflector, and the fire pit is
a small hole in the floor of the kiva. This hole is usually about 3
inches in diameter and from 4 to 6 inches deep; its walls and bottom
often covered with a smooth layer of mud. In the present-day kivas
this hole is known as the "sipapu", and is considered to be the
symbolic entrance to the underworld. The kiva was a combination
ceremonial, club, and work room for the men. Even in the present-day
villages the women are rarely ever allowed to enter the kivas because
of the fact that the men take almost entire charge of the religious
work. It is believed that each clan had its own kiva. It may be noted
that in almost every case the kiva is surrounded by a group of living
rooms. The members of the clan no doubt lived in these rooms and the
men held their ceremonies in the adjoining kiva. Two of the kivas in
Spruce Tree House have side entrances that lead to nearby rooms. These
rooms may have been the homes of the priests, or dressing rooms for
them.