Lifeways

Pueblo-style houses are unique among Indian dwellings because of their apartment-building design. They had as many as six different levels. The flat roof of one level served as the floor and front yard of another. The different stories were interconnected by ladders. For much of history, the walls, especially on the ground level, had no doors or windows, making the villages easier to defend from attacks. The Indians entered their rooms through holes in the roofs.

Two different types of building material were used for the walls: the Hopi and Zuni used stones that were mortared and surfaced with plaster; in addition to some stone, the Rio Grande Indians used adobe bricks, made from sundried earth and straw. All known Pueblo Indians stretched log beams across the roofs, covering them with poles, brush, and more plaster. Sometimes the beams projected beyond the walls and were used to hang food for drying.

Pueblo Indians also dug pithouses as ceremonial chambers or clubhouses. The Hopi name for these underground chambers, kiva, is a term now applied to all such Pueblo Indian structures. Kivas typically were located at a central plaza of the pueblo.

Pueblo Indians cultivated a variety of crops, including corn of many varieties, squash, beans, sunflowers, cotton, and tobacco. They also kept domesticated turkeys. Pueblo hunters also pursued wild deer, antelope, and rabbits.

Pueblo men wore kilts of cotton plus leather sandals. The women wore cotton dresses and sandals or high moccasin boots. They also used deerskin and rabbit skin for clothing. The women made coiled pottery, which

Pueblo Indian pottery from Acoma

They polished and painted with exquisite designs. They also made baskets, both coiled and wicker types.

Pueblo men carved wooden masks to wear in elaborate ceremonies. Many of these were for the purpose of bringing rain, essential to their farming. In the Hopi religion, these masks and the beings they were supposed to represent were called kachinas. The Indians also carved kachina dolls to teach their children about their religion. Other peoples had different names for similar legendary beings, but the term kachina is now widespread.