kivas
Ancestral ceremonial chambers
Kivas are underground or semi-underground ceremonial chambers used by Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest.
Circular and accessed by ladder through the roof, kivas serve as spaces for religious rituals, community gatherings, and instruction.
They remain central to Hopi, Zuni, and other Pueblo spiritual practices: The men gathered in the kiva for the ceremony.
Beneath earth's surface
- circularForming a closed curve
- chamberEnclosed room or cavity
- adobeSun-dried clay bricks
- masonryBuilding with mortared blocks
sandstone · pilasters · ladder · roof hatch · deflector · fire pit · bench
Pueblo people of Arizona
- ZuniNative southwestern pueblo-dwellers
- AnasaziAncient Southwestern cliff-dwelling people
- Ancestral PuebloansPre-Columbian Four Corners people
- TaosNorthern New Mexico art community
Mesa Verde · cliff dwellings · pueblos · adobe · ladder · plaza · sandstone · Southwest
Worthy of reverence
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- emergenceComing into existence
- kachinaCarved ceremonial spirit figure
- spirit worldRealm of the dead
initiation · ancestors · offerings · sand paintings · solstice · equinox · clan gatherings · secret societies
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- potsherdsFragments of broken ceramics
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
- hearthsFireplace floor areas
midden · carbon-dating · dig site · prehistoric · ancestral · dwellings · ceramics · bench
subterranean
Beneath earth's surface
masonry · sandstone · pilasters · ladder · roof hatch · deflector · fire pit · bench
Hopi
Pueblo people of Arizona
- ZuniNative southwestern pueblo-dwellers
- AnasaziAncient Southwestern cliff-dwelling people
- Ancestral PuebloansPre-Columbian Four Corners people
Taos · Mesa Verde · cliff dwellings · pueblos · adobe · ladder · plaza · sandstone · Southwest · village
sacred
Worthy of reverence
- ritualsCeremonial repeated practices
- emergenceComing into existence
- kachinaCarved ceremonial spirit figure
spirit world · initiation · ancestors · offerings · sand paintings · solstice · equinox · clan gatherings · secret societies · religious instruction
excavation
Act of unearthing
- artifactsHuman-made historical objects
- potsherdsFragments of broken ceramics
- stratigraphyStudy of rock layers
hearths · midden · carbon-dating · dig site · prehistoric · ancestral · dwellings · ceramics · bench · fire pit
kivastowers
Tall vertical structures
elevated platforms · watchtowers · cliff dwellings · pueblos · adobe houses
kivasliving quarters
Residential rooms or space
granaries · kitchens · workshops · storehouses · utility rooms