- Hearth
This is the excavated hearth (fire pit) within the pit house. The builders of the pit house dug the hearth deeply into decaying limestone bedrock, and within this hearth archaeologists found a stone bead, a bone awl, and a charred juniper seed. The hearth was intentionally filled prior to the destruction of the house, with charcoal, ash, and rock packed in around a large piece of wood placed nearly vertically within it. Additional ash and charcoal was mounded over the filled hearth, with several large limestone rocks then placed over the mound, and over this lay a layer of yellowish, clayey fill and small limestone rocks that had apparently been used to cover the floor. Scientific study of the hearth fill indicates sagebrush and a woody member of the rose family (perhaps cliffrose)were burned in the hearth, as were juniper and pine. A few fragments of bone were also present, likely representing food remains tossed into the fire after a meal, one of which was a mammal—perhaps bison or sheep—roasted over the fire. Prickly pear and yucca may also have been cooked here, as was corn (Zea mays) and perhaps juniper, goosefoot, purslane, ricegrass, and wild licorice, as well as walnuts, acorn, and hazelnut. - Structure
A smaller, rectangular structure was associated with the pit house. This consisted of a small, shallow building built of poles and brush and outlined with masonry. Inside, a large hearth occupied much of the interior, leading to the conclusion that this structure was used primarily for cooking. Analysis of samples taken from within the structure indicate that juniper, pine, oak, and a woody member of the rose family (perhaps cliffrose) were used as fuel, and that maize, prickly pear, and members of the Cheno-Am group(goosefoot and amaranth) were likely cooked as food, as were yucca, mesquite, blueberries, and possibly sheep and bison, as well. - ownership
- ranching
- Wupatkis Diverse Society
- digging
- Wukoki
Location: Wukoki Pueblo, Wupatki National Monument. Description: Wukoki on a hot summer day. - Stone
- Continuity and Change
- The-Dine
- Footsteps to Wupatki
- Floyd Black-on-gray, Close View
This photograph shows the broken edge of a piece of Floyd Black-on-gray pottery. The larger pieces that look like sand are called temper, which is used to strengthen ceramic vessels. Temper also helps archaeologists identify ceramic wares and types, and in some cases, can be used to determine where the vessel itself was made. - Map video
- Wupatki Trade Items
- In Search of the Center Place