Period+6+Pueblo

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Dwellings
written by Joshua

PUEBLO DWELLINGS

The [|Pueblos] had a lot of well thought out areas in which they did many things. One of the most important rooms in the whole camp is the [|kiva] which served many purposes. They are situated in the courtyards of the camp. The kivas are either completely underground, or partially underground. The kiva is used for ceremonial purposes and important meetings. Sometimes they were used for dance groups that are preparing to perform. They were also used, sometimes for important meetings about the village like governing the Pueblo and the growing of crops. In the middle of the kiva was a small hole that is filled with dirt. This small opening symbolized the umbilical cord of Mother Earth and is called a Sipapu and it is the path that people travel through from the [|underworld]. Some of the living houses had as many as six floors with different families on each floor. People traveled from floor to floor by ladders. On the first floor of the buildings there were no doors or windows to protect them from attacks. The door to the first floor is on the roof. To make the houses they used stretched wood beams, sun dried earth, and straw for walls and roofs. So in all this shows that the Pueblos have thought about and built great buildings for their tribes.

Lifestyle
written by Olivia B.

The Pueblo tribes have several different ways of life. They were farmers and hunters. They grew crops including corn, beans, squash, tobacco and cotton. The Pueblo men hunted animals that were found in the woods including deer, buffalo, antelope and rabbits. The women mainly made [|pottery] and wove [|wicker basket]s. The pottery was full of [|elaborate] Pueblo designs and shapes. The men wore kilts made of cotton that they wove and the woman wore cotton dresses with long mocissin boots. Those are the life styles of the Pueblo people.



Religion
written by Tiffany



The Pueblos believe in Kachinas, the spirits of rain, departed ancestors, and the messengers of the dead. They did __NOT__ worship the Kachinas but they believed that the Kachinas guided the world. Some historians believe that the Pueblo’s belief in the Kachinas started in the late 1400s. They appear on rock art and and pottery around 1275-1350. They’re also on murals from 1375-1400. Pueblos believed that Kachinas came in the form of plants, birds, animals, and humans bringing rain, good crops, and life. It was believed that if you behaved inappropriately, then Kachinas would withhold their blessings. Kachinas apparently lived in the San Francisco Peaks(Hopi), Wenima(Keresan), lakes, and springs. Kachinas use to come to pueblos to sing part of the time but they stopped. Masked male dancers took their place. After a lot of preperation, they were initiated and lost their personal identity while gaining the power of the Kachinas themselves. The Pueblo made dolls out of carved wood and painted decorations to teach their children about the Kachina. In modern times they are made with elaborate designs and feathers.

Government
written by Winston.S

The Pueblo Government

There are many facts about Pueblo government like the fact that there are two types of Pueblos, the western Pueblo or [|Hopi] and the eastern Pueblo or the [|Zuni]. There are four tribal groups including the Tewa,Tiwa,Towa,and Keres and each village was a separate political unit who had it’s own leaders and traditions. Also the tribal leaders had to meet in the [|Kiva] an underground chamber where there would be tribal meetings and the leaders would talk about farming, harvesting, and politics. Lastly the longest standing member of the Flint society in the Keres tribal group, was the Caqique or headmen of the village.