THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA. Thomas C. Windes. Abstract. There is great interest in the development and expansion of the great houses of the. Chaco culture ...
THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA
Thomas C. Windes
Abstract There is great interest in the development and expansion of the great houses of the Chaco culture as a sui generis phenomenon. The study of the internal space of the great houses has lagged behind: rectangualar and circular rooms are distinguished, but with little consideration of additional details and of the integration of architectural components. The lack of detailed studies is owed in part to the costs of excavation (time, money, and social conflicts) and in a change of focus to detailed studies of artifacts. In this essay I support our understanding the functioning of the great houses of the Chaco culture by means of a study of a key architectural element, kivas (ceremonial rooms) in courtyards. The essay provides a new definition of couryard kivas and examines the role of such kivas in the great houses and communities of the Chaco culture. It is important to examine the large Chaco-style kivas, and the essay is based on a large number of such kivas in order to illuminate their characteristics and their importance in the Chaco culture. Resumen Hay gran interés in el desarrollo y la expansión de las casas grandes de la cultura Chaco como un fenómeno sui generis. El estudio de los espacios internos de las casas grandes ha quedado atrás: se distinguen los cuartos rectangulares y circulares, pero con poca consideración de detalles adicionales y de la integración de componentes arquitectónicos. La falta de estudios detallados se debe en parte a los costos de excavación (tiempo, dinero, y conflictos sociales) y en un cambio de enfoque a estudios detallados de artefactos. En este ensayo apoyo nuestro entendimiento del funcionamiento de las casas grandes de la cultura Chaco por medio de un estudio de un elemento arquitectónico clave, kivas (cuartos ceremoniales) en plazuelas. El ensayo provee una definición nueva del las kivas en plazuelas y examina el papel de dichas kivas en las casas grandes y las comunidades de la cultura Chaco. Es importante examinar las kivas grandes estilo Chaco, y el ensayo se base en un gran número de dichas kivas para iluminar sus características y su importancia a la cultura Chaco.
Introduction
A
rchitectural expression is the essence Chacoan public buildings. The great mass and elevations of the greathouses coupled with beautiful horizontal bands of masonry is a Chacoan hallmark. One of the most KIVA: The Journal of Southwestern Anthropology and History, Vol. 79, No. 4 (Summer 2014), pp. 337–379. Copyright © 2015 Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.11 79/ 0023194014Z.000 000 0030
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THOMAS C. WINDES
recognizable structures in puebloan archaeology is the kiva, but the various functions to which it may have been used are greatly understudied. While many have been interested in the “pithouse-to-kiva” transition from Basketmaker and Pueblo I to later puebloan house sites (e.g., Lancaster and Pinkley 1954:55– 61; Gillespie 1976), the kiva has generally been attributed to a specialized ritual chamber use similar to those found today among the many Pueblos. More recently, a few researchers (e.g., Lekson 1988; Lipe 1989) provide a dissenting view that leans more toward its use as a circular habitation chamber. The point is that not all round rooms (nor “habitation” rooms, for that matter) serve the same roles within puebloan society but, except for great kivas, distinction among them is too rarely made. Recognition of kiva variation is often not pursued, defaulting to a presumptive ethnographic norm based on a limited test pit and or trenching to merely verify a kiva’s presence. The identity of prehistoric round rooms, labeled “kivas” after Hopi ethnographic examples (Fewkes 1909:20), has provoked much thoughtful discussion (e.g., Adler 1993; Brew 1946:203–214; Cater and Chenault 1988; Lekson 1988, 2007:18–28; Lekson et al. 2006:84–89; Lipe 1989; Peckham 1979; Reiter 1946:71–76; Smith 1952:154–165). Despite discussion regarding round rooms in Chacoan architecture, little has been done to closely examine the differences among the many variants (cf., McLellan 1969) and their importance to understanding the meaning of Chacoan public architecture. This study explores the large non-great kivas, a specific kiva form within the broader contexts of its cultural continuum and found primarily within Chacoan greathouses. These have been designated here as “court” kivas for the large Chacoan-style kivas, which were first built below ground in the courtyards or plaza areas of early greathouses (e.g., Judd 1964; Lekson 1984, 2007:27; Morris n.d.; Pepper 1920; Vivian and Hilpert 2012:173; Vivian 1990; Windes 1987a, b) and typically were not directly attached to the specific roomblock architecture. Following Smith (1952) and others, size, context, and some rare features make these kivas distinct from the smaller kivas generally associated with habitation units. Only by the mid A.D. 1000s were these elevated within the above-ground house architecture, but still within an adjoining open space. This study focuses on when is a kiva a Chacoan court kiva and what is the importance of this type of kiva within the larger structure and local community? Does its uniqueness within Chaco later transition to outlying areas and in other regions and can these unusual structures be consistently identified? Background Kivas are too often depicted in archaeological and historic studies as forming two classes: great kivas and others or, historically, big and little kivas (e.g., Cater and Chenault 1988; Hawley 1950). In one study at Pueblo Bonito, for instance, the
THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA
339
two sizes of kivas there were identified by volume (Crown and Wills 2003:519). Other studies have identified several varieties of kiva: great kivas, tower kivas, Chacoan- and Mesa Verdean-style kivas, and small or clan kivas, based primarily upon size and some recognition of features (see Cameron 2008:258–259; Lekson 1984:50–61, 2007:21–28; Vivian 1990) with little effort to understand the breadth of varying floor and wall features or floor-associated artifacts (cf., McLellan 1969). Kivas within bi- and tri-wall structures and domestic-suite or household kivas (Lekson’s “clan kivas” or “small round rooms,” 2007:20, 27– 28; see also Arakawa 2013:302 fn 7) may be additional types. Lekson (2007:21–27), however, would make the court kiva (“the archetype of Chacoan round rooms”) distinct from other types. Just as there are several different uses and types for puebloan rectangular rooms (e.g., Lekson 2007:12–18), round rooms or kivas likewise display a variety of functional and ritual uses that are important to our understanding of site and community use. Judd’s (1964:177), Lekson’s (1984:52, 54, 59–60; 2007:21–27), and Vivian’s (1990:Figure 6.15, but lacks the foot drum) description of the large Chacoan-style kivas provide an excellent framework for the identity of the “court” kiva examined here. A Chacoan court kiva is a large, circular structure containing a firepit, a subfloor ventilator with a break in the bench directly above (but without a southern recess), low radial-log pilasters, perhaps a bench niche or two, and a large subfloor vault or foot drum placed west of the firepit. Aside from its size, the most distinctive features of a court kiva are its low, radial-log pilasters, a subfloor ventilator, and its western vault. Although this type of kiva is widely recognized among southwestern archaeologists, particularly in the Four Corners region, there has been little effort to systematically examine the court kiva amidst the wider pool of round structures and their relationships to the surrounding architecture (cf., Lekson 2007). Within Chacoan greathouses, the classification of kiva types often meant that the Chacoan court kiva was subsumed under the general kiva class after great kivas, tower kivas, and the like were recognized. But court kiva floor size overlaps that of great kivas, which has sometimes resulted in court kivas being classified as great kivas, especially if the structure is unexcavated and exhibits a large depression. But not all structural units within greathouses are “Chacoan” nor is the presence of a kiva in a greathouse automatically linked to a “Chacoan” heritage or construction. Many kivas, particularly the small ones, are architecturally associated with individual households that became prominent within greathouses during the later occupations in the early A.D. 1100s and 1200s following the vernacular tradition of small household (Prudden Unit) construction. In Chaco, the association of small household kivas is especially evident among the later small house settlements such as the Bc sites in the Casa Rinconada rincon across from Pueblo Bonito (e.g., Figure 1; McKenna and Truell 1986).
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THOMAS C. WINDES
FIGURE 1. Bc 59, A Chaco small house site from the late A.D. 1000s/early 1100s excavated by the
University of New Mexico Field School and the National Park Service in the 1940s. Revised and redrafted by Tom Windes after field inspection, and digitized by Clay Mathers
The present visible architectural plans of these “Bc-sites”, however, are those created in the early A.D. 1100s, which are not the typical Chacoan house constructions in the A.D. 900s and 1000s (e.g., Figure 1). Instead,
THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA
341
houses later excavated by the Chaco Project and others built in the A.D. 900s and 1000s (e.g., McKenna 1984; McKenna and Truell 1986; Truell 1992; Vivian 1965; Windes 1993) are more representative of Chacoan Pueblo II small-house occupations than this specialized suite of buildings in the Pueblo Bonito area of Chaco. Similar to the Bc-sites, small households of a few rooms and a small plaza- or roomblock-kiva were repeated in the new early A.D. 1100s constructions built within older greathouses (see also Lekson 2007:23) such as Pueblo Alto, Pueblo Bonito, and Salmon Ruins. The Sample Although many court kivas have been tested or excavated, many lack detail or the documented presence of various features. Most of the present sample of 86 kivas derives from Chaco Canyon (n = 52), and nearby Bis sa’ani (Marshall 1982), with 27 from Pueblo Bonito (Table 1). But 26 more comprise the sample from north of the San Juan River at Salmon (Reed 2006), Sterling (Bice 1983), Aztec (Morris field notes), Far View Pueblo (Fewkes 1917; Kay Barnett, personal communication 2009), site MV1928 in Morfield Canyon (Kay Barnett, personal communication 2010); Haynie (Windes 2008 field notes), Ida Jean (Brisbin and Brisbin 1975), Bluff (Cameron 2009); Chimney Rock (Eddy 1977; Roberts 1924), Escalante (Hallasi 1979), Albert Porter (Ryan 2010), Snider’s Well (Blackburn 2006), and Carhart (Baxter 2010). Given the expansion of Chacoan greathouses north of the San Juan River in the late A.D. 1000s and early 1100s, the sample of court kivas from this area provides a useful look at greathouse architectural continuity and diversity in the continued use and positioning of court kivas. A much smaller kiva sample (7) was gathered from the south on the Zuni Reservation at the Village of the Great Kivas (Roberts 1932) and near Hawikuh (Hodge 1923), at Dittert in the Acoma area (Dittert 1959:Figure 55), and, from the eastern region in the Puerco River Valley, Guadalupe Pueblo (Pippin 1987). Because of the large sample, however, the primary focus is on Chaco Canyon area and the greathouses to the north and northwest. Forty-seven of the court kivas in the sample yielded tree-ring dates (Table 1), with the majority (26; 55%) dating in the A.D. 1000s. Overall, four yielded non-cutting A.D. 800s and 900s dates, while 14 dated in the early A. D. 1100s and three dated in the 1200s. Fifteen of the 27 Bonito kivas yielded dates. While the dated sample is not completely representative of the temporal range of court kivas, it does reflect their widespread presence in the A.D. 1000s (and the bias introduced by the canyon sample) and early A.D. 1100s. Of the 23 northern outlier court kivas, the latest tree-ring dates from the 13 dated structures range between A.D. 1017 and 1137, which supports the temporal pattern observed in Chaco Canyon.
342
TABLE 1. The court kiva sample used in this study
Outlet? Foreign? Latest date
Pilasters no.
Floor diameter (cm)
Pilaster offerings
Cribbing logs Subfloor Wainscoting present vent
6
530
A
A
A
A
north Vault Sipapu Niches Niche
Kiva
Bis sa’ani
W. kiva
Bis sa’ani
S. kiva
8
570
Bc 59
Kiva 5
4
549
Chetro Ketl
G-1
1112 L
8
605
P
Chetro Ketl
G-2
1101 L
8
785
P
Chetro Ketl
G-5
1029 v
6
625
P
P
Chetro Ketl
I
1087 r
8
710
P
P
P
Chetro Ketl
J
1049 v
8
725
P
P
P
Chetro Ketl
P
1008 vv
Chetro Ketl
COURT
Kin Kletso
B
Kin Kletso
E
Kin Kletso
C
Pueblo Alto
10
Pueblo Bonito
B
Pueblo Bonito
C
Pueblo Bonito
1055 rLG
922 vv
foreign
P
P P
P
P
0
0
P
P
1?
1
P
P
P
0
0
P
P
P
0
0
841±
8
582
8
B
C
B
C
P
P 0
606± 8
Court Burned location
B P
A
A
P
1
A
A
P
P
P
0
0
No
643
A
A
P
P
0
0
No
A
A
P
4
391
?
700
1063 vv
8
653
P
PL
P
P
P
0
0
B
1120 r
10
709
P
PL
P
P
P
0
0
B
D
1127 vv
10
808
P
A
P
P
0
0
B
Pueblo Bonito
F
1081 r
6
663
P
PL
P?
P
P
0
0
Pueblo Bonito
G
1080 v
6
653
P
P
P
P
P
0
1
Pueblo Bonito
H
1054 vv
8
554
P
A
P
P
0
0
P
P
C
0
P
P
B
Continued
THOMAS C. WINDES
Site
TABLE 1. Continued Kiva
Outlet? Latest date Foreign?
Pueblo Bonito
I
foreign
Pueblo Bonito
J
Pueblo Bonito
K
Pueblo Bonito
L
Pueblo Bonito
M
Pueblo Bonito
Pilasters no.
Floor diameter (cm)
Pilaster offerings
Wainscoting Cribbing logs Subfloor present vent
Vault Sipapu Niches north Niche
Burned Court location
1064 vv
8
483
P
A
P
P
P
0
0
1084 vv
8
663
P
A
P
P
P
0
0
8
538
P
A
P
P
0
0
1083 vv
6
549
P
P
P
A
0
3
1039 r
6
526
A
P
P
P
0
1
P
B
C
N
973 vv
6
544
P
P
P
A
0
1
P
B
C
Pueblo Bonito
P
1102 ++vv
2+
792
P
?
Pueblo Bonito
R
6
693
P
P
P
Pueblo Bonito
S
2+
605
P
P
P
Pueblo Bonito
T
8
686
P
P
Pueblo Bonito
X
foreign
6
404
A
A
P
Pueblo Bonito
W
foreign
6
462
A
Pueblo Bonito
Z
foreign
6
617
A
A
Pueblo Bonito
16
6
625
P
P
Pueblo Bonito
26
1+
?
P
Pueblo Bonito
67
6
777
Pueblo Bonito
75
8
?
Pueblo Bonito
161
8
518
Pueblo Bonito
162
8
551
Pueblo Bonito
2-B
6
696
1078 c
977 vv
1109 v
P
C
C P
A
0
1
P
C
P
C
C P
P
0
0
A
0
1
P
P
0
0
P
A
0
0 B C B
A P
P B P P
P
P
0
B B?
Continued
343
A
C C
A A
A
THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA
Site
344
TABLE 1. Continued Site
Kiva
Pueblo Bonito
under 2-C
Pueblo del Arroyo
C
Pueblo del Arroyo
Outlet? Latest date Foreign?
Floor diameter (cm)
4
686
1064 vv
8
896
P
P
D
1029 vv
6
340
P
A
Pueblo del Arroyo
E
1042 ++vv
6
439
P
A
Pueblo del Arroyo
sub E
?
?
Pueblo del Arroyo
F
1024 vv
6
457
P
A
Pueblo del Arroyo
G
1007 vv
6
561
P
A
Pueblo del Arroyo
L
1100 v
10
725
A
Pueblo del Arroyo
“c”/DD
0
526
Una Vida
B
Una Vida
A
1093+vv
1+
470±
?
734±
Una Vida
C
?
520±
Talus Unit
J
?
850±
Pilaster offerings
Wainscoting Cribbing logs Subfloor present vent
Vault Sipapu Niches north Niche
Burned Court location
A
C P
P
P
P
0
P
0
P
0
B
P
P?
P
0
C
P
A
0
C
A
P
P
0
A
P
P
A
P
C/triwall±
No
C
Continued
THOMAS C. WINDES
Pilasters no.
TABLE 1. Continued Outlet? Latest date Foreign?
Pilasters no.
Floor diameter (cm)
Pilaster offerings
Wainscoting Cribbing logs Subfloor present vent
Aztec Annex
A.1
N. outlier
10
701±
P
A
P
Aztec Hubbard 1 Mound
N. outlier
8
433
A
A
P
Aztec Hubbard 2 Mound
N. outlier
6
457
A
A
P
Aztec Mound F 1
N. outlier
2+
488±
Aztec West
E
N. outlier
10
750
Aztec West
F
N. outlier
8
575
Aztec West
H
N. outlier
10
610
Aztec West
J
N. outlier
1111 r
8
587
Aztec West
L
N. outlier
1098 r
10
683
Bluff
NE
N. outlier
?
Carhart
1
N. outlier
1017 r
Chimney Rock E
N. outlier
1093 r
1200s
1112 tent
A A
Vault Sipapu Niches north Niche
0
8
Burned Court location
P
triwall C
P
A
triwall P
0
0
4
P
B
2
P
B*
C
P P
P
P
A
P
0
625
P
P
8
620
A
P
P
1
8
715
A
P
P
0
B
1
P B
Continued
345
Kiva
THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA
Site
346
TABLE 1. Continued Site
Kiva
Pilasters no.
Floor diameter (cm)
Pilaster offerings
Chimney Rock W
N. outlier
8
715
P
Escalante
A
N. outlier
1137 vv
8
575
Far View House
A
N. outlier
873 vv
6
665
Haynie
226
N. outlier
1111 rB
6
513
Ida Jean
A
N. outlier
1078 vv
6
521
Ida Jean
B
N. outlier
1124 rB
6
Lowry
A
N. outlier
1120 rL
Lowry
B
N. outlier
Morfield 5MV1928
Feat 2?
N. outlier
Porter
112
N. outlier
8
420
A
Porter
108
N. outlier
8
700
A
Salmon
64
N. outlier
8
700
A
Wainscoting Cribbing logs Subfloor present vent
Vault Sipapu Niches north Niche
A
P
P
1
0
A
P(3)
0
0
P
A A
P
P
P
P
A
P
P
P
1
2
521
P
A
P
P
A
1
2
8
569
A
A
P
A
0
0
1106 r
7
503
A
A
P
A
0
2
PII
radial log 1000 A
P
A
A
P
P
0
0
P
P(2)
1
0
1090 r
1
Burned Court location
C P
THOMAS C. WINDES
Outlet? Latest date Foreign?
B P
B
P
P
P
1 C? B
Continued
TABLE 1. Continued Kiva
Outlet? Latest date Foreign?
Pilasters no.
Floor diameter (cm)
Snider’s Well
–
N. outlier
8
7.5±
Sterling
4
N. outlier
8
590
Dittert
A
1066 vv
Pilaster offerings
Wainscoting Cribbing logs Subfloor present vent
P
Vault Sipapu Niches north Niche
A
Burned Court location
+
P?
P?
S. outlier 1162v,1201r 2
494
A
P
P
1
2
P(2)
Hawikuh (next I to)
S. outlier
0
518
A
A
P
P
1
3
P
C
Hawikuh (next II to)
S. outlier
0
480
A
A
P
P
0
3
P
C
Village of Great Kivas
A
S. outlier
0
450
A
A
P
P
1
1
P
Village of Great Kivas
C
S. outlier
0
495
A
A
P
P
0
1
P
Guadalupe
W1
E. outlier 1266 r
4
545
A
A
A
P
0
4
Guadalupe
W5
E. outlier 1270s
6
540
A
A
A
P
1
1
P
THE CHACOAN COURT KIVA
Site
C
* Kiva burned in early historic times (archaeomagnetic dating). Note: Features: P=present; A=absent; Blank space and ?=unknown; PL=plank. Roberts 1924:169
347
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THOMAS C. WINDES
Floor diameters of the court kivas included in this study yielded a mean of 618 cm (sd = 91 cm; cv = 16.8%) for 25 Pueblo Bonito kivas and 611 cm (sd = 113 cm; cv = 15.8%) for the 26 northern outlier kivas.1 Overall, floor diameters for the court kiva sample ranged between 340 and 1000 cm. A couple of kivas included in the sample (i.e., Kiva D at Pueblo del Arroyo and Kiva C at Kin Kletso) were small (
