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 and upon descending the ladder into one of these the details of
construction may be noted.
Kivas in the Mesa Verde are always underground and are nearly always
circular. 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, and these, rising to within 2 or
3 feet of the top of the kiva, served as roof supports. Short beams were
placed from pilaster to pilaster around the room and a second set of
beams was laid across the angles made by the first set. This was
continued until five or six sets of beams had 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. In the
center of the roof a small square hole was left that served as a door and
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 workroom
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, and it will 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.