Anasazi Architecture
From Pithouse to Cliff Dwelling
Feb 10, 2009 Jeffrey R Gudzune
While it would be easy to identify indigenous communities by their style of dwelling, to do so would assume that tribal bands lacked the necessary architectural evolution that accompanies social development. As nomadic bands settled into permanent communities and adapted to their various environments, they were also forced to adapt their architectural techniques to fit these new environments. As a tribe moved away from a nomadic existence, temporary shelters took on a more complicated structural design. The development of an agricultural base and the establishment of trade patterns facilitated tribal growth, allowing a culture to expand its social structure from small bands into lager communities. The earliest known examples of this rapid evolution can be found among the indigenous civilizations of the Southwest. These cultures moved from small nomadic bands of Paleo-Indians into large centers of trade that rivaled any in pre-contact North America. Among the most advanced of these pre-contact societies was the Anasazi of the Four Corners region.
The Anasazi represent the total evolution of an indigenous culture from nomadic band into an established city-state. Centered at the confluence of present day Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico (the aptly named Four Corners region), the roots of the Anasazi culture go back as far as the nomadic bands of the Archaic Desert-Cochise cultures. The development of an agricultural base allowed Anasazi communities to establish a permanent presence in their zone of influence. In their examination of abandoned Anasazi dwellings in New Mexico, archeologists have uncovered examples of intricately designed pottery as well as heavy deposits of turquoise. Archeologists have also determined that the Anasazi transported their goods through a system of roads that connected their main centers of trade to surrounding communities. It is believed that their trade influence extended as far south as Mexico, possibly even to the fringes of the great empires of Mesoamerica, and as far west as the coastal communities of California. Between 150 and 750 A.D., the Anasazi worked to establish themselves as the masters of trade and commerce for the region. As their wealth and prestige grew, so too did their society. Throughout this period of time, the Anasazi lived in pithouses and arranged their communities in semi-circular villages.
After 750 A.D., the Anasazi began to organize their communities around a radically new form of architecture—the pueblo. Constructed of either adobe bricks or adobe mortar, the pueblo represented the height of architectural development in pre-contact North America. These structures were originally created as one room storage facilities, but the basic design was gradually expanded to include several interconnected rooms. Eventually, the Anasazi found a means to connect several multi-storied pueblos into large apartment complexes. Anasazi architects constructed their dwellings atop large, flat mesas and designed them to withstand both the elements and potential enemy invasion. Historians have dubbed this period of time the Golden Age of the Anasazi, when their dominance of regional trade allowed for their society to become rich and prosperous. Pueblo architecture dominated Anasazi life until around 1150 A.D., when the buildings were gradually abandoned and the Anasazi began to relocate their communities to more defensible positions.
Archeological evidence shows that from about 1150 to 1230 A.D., Anasazi city states began to relocate to the north, penetrating deeper into Colorado and Utah. They continued to employ adobe in the construction of their dwellings, but this time the Anasazi built their communities against the sides of canyons and along the recesses of high cliffs. This was the dawn of the cliff dwelling, massive pueblo compounds occupying a safe and defensible position. What drove the Anasazi to relocate their communities to these natural barriers? Drought, foreign invasion, and internal conflict have all been proposed as causative factors in the relocation of Anasazi communities. Regardless of the cause, the Anasazi continued to have an influence on the region and remained prominent in the inter-tribal trade until the early 1300s. Beginning around 1300, the larger Anasazi cliff dwellings were also abandoned. Within a few decades they were all empty. The question remains, what happened to the Anasazi?
Sources:
Paul Aron, Unsolved Mysteries of American History: An Eye- Opening Hourney Through 500 Years of Discoveries, Disappearances, and Baffling Events. (New York: MJF Books, 1997).
Mark C Carnes, Ed, U.S. History. (New York: MacMillan Library Reference, 1996).
Kenneth C. Davis, Don’t Know Much About History. (New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2003).
Gilbert Legay, Atlas of Indians. (Hauppage: Barron’s, 1995)
Marilyn Miller and Marian Faux, Ed, American History Desk Reference. (New York: MacMillan, 1997).
Carl Waldman, Atlas of the North American Indian. (New York: Checkmark Book, 2000).
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