Interior of reconstructed Anasazi great kiva at Aztec Ruins, New Mexico. View from N alcove showing S entrance, roof supports, firebox & roof hatch.
Interior of the reconstructed Anasazi great kiva at Aztec Ruins, New Mexico. View from N alcove showing entrance at S, four pillars supporting the roof, square firebox, rectangular floor vaults (sweat baths, foot drums, ritual magic), encircling bench & wall ladders leading up to external ground level chambers. Roof hatch served as a smokehole & allowed access via a ladder. The limestone roundels were footings for the original pillars made of alternating layers of masonry and horizontal poles set in mortar. The kiva has a diameter of c 49 feet (15m), it was excavated in 1921 by Earl Morris & reconstructed by him in 1934. An imposing subterranean chamber used for religious ritual & ceremony, and other public & community activities. The pueblo at Aztec was first built as a Chacoan outlier c AD1125 by Anasazi people associated with Chaco Canyon, some 50 miles to the S and connected by a Chacoan road. After abandonment around 1200, the site was reoccupied (c AD1225-late 1200s) by other Pueblo people from Mesa Verde some 40 miles to the NW.
Size: 3543px × 2494px
Location: Aztec Ruins National Monument, Farmington, San Juan County, New Mexico, USA
Photo credit: © Mick Sharp / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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