- Alone in the Desert
- Air Circulation System
In this room, someone designed an innovative air circulation system to allow for an indoor fire. A stone-lined ventilator trench is connected to an opening in the base of the cliff wall. The upright stone slab at the end of the ventilator trench deflected incoming air so that the draft would pass directly across the firepit. Smoke would exit through a roof opening. Note how preservation efforts have changed this building: original floor surface, as with this room, are much lower - dirt placed in the rooms after excavation protects floor features and keeps walls from collapsing. Throughout the dwelling you'll see a variety of modern drains that keep water from standing in rooms. In some cases the architecture has been altered. For example, the square and round holes on this front wall were placed for drainage, and the large masonry column built in the back corner supports the upper wall. - About these Snapshots
- A Ready-made Room
You may enter this room. The rock outcrop around you provided an almost ready-made room, initially used for household trash. Roughly 5 feet (1.5 meters) of debris accumulated here before the first floor was laid and the space used as a living room. Can you tell where a second story room began? This room provides a special opportunity to experience the pueblo in an intimate way. Generally, you should not enter rooms unless invited. Everyone has a responsibility to know the "ground rules" when visiting an archeological site. - A Quiet Presence
- A Question of Rights
- A Possible Kiva
This room, on the southeastern corner of the pueblo, is one of the largest in the village, yet no household tools or utensils were found inside. This suggests it was a special space, perhaps a ceremonial room known as a kiva. However, a kiva would have a single bench on the north side of the room. There is no record of this, but early excavations may have missed such a feature. In a village this size, one or two kivas would have been expected. They may have been used for the private aspects of ritual, while the larger, open community room served public ceremonies. Today, rectangular clan kivas persist in Hopi villages, while larger, round community kivas endure in the eastern Pueblos. Kivas are an integral part of Puebloan society and remain a cultural trait that can be traced from past to present.
Compare the possible kiva to the room to the left. Note the size difference? The inset shows the interior hearth (firepit) and deflector. - A History of Wupatki in Flaked Stone
The sequence of projectile points and bifaces displayed represents approximately 13,000 years of people on the landscape of Wupatki. Far Left Basalt hoe or knife (ca. A.D. 1100 - 1200s). Upper row (left to right) Elko-series point made of red chert/chalcedony found near Crack-in-Rock (Archaic); tan-brown chert Plainview point from Wupatki Pueblo; Clovis point made of Black Tank obsidian (ca. 13,000 years old); Elko Corner-notched chert point (Archaic); and Elko Corner-notch chert point (Archaic). Note: The Elko points depicted have been professionally restored. Far right Pueblo-period bifacial knife made from agatized wood and found at Wupatki Pueblo. Bottom row (left to right) Kayenta chert point from Wupatki Pueblo; Cohonina obsidian point from Wupatki Pueblo, Sinagua chert point from Wupatki Pueblo; Cohonina-style point or drill made from chalcedony found in Wupatki Pueblo; Kayenta point from near Crack-in-Rock; Sinagua point from Wupatki Pueblo; Chiricahua-style Archaic point made from chalcedony; and obsidian Cohonina point from Wupatki Pueblo. Collection: On display at Wupatki National Monument (catalog cards are linked in the descriptions of the individual artifacts).