Kiva

For other uses, see Kiva (disambiguation).

Reconstructed kiva at Bandelier National Monument
Interior of a reconstructed kiva at Mesa Verde National Park
Ruins of a great kiva at Chaco Culture National Historical Park
The Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument was excavated by Earl Morris in 1921 and reconstructed by him 13 years later.
Interior of Great Kiva at Aztec Ruins National Monument showing the vast size of the structure
Ruins of the kiva at Puerco Pueblo, Petrified Forest National Park
A drawing of Chacoan round room features
Chacoan round room features

A kiva is a space used by Puebloans for rites and political meetings, many of them associated with the kachina belief system. Among the modern Hopi and most other Pueblo peoples, "kiva" means a large room that is circular and underground, and used for spiritual ceremonies and a place of worship.

Similar subterranean rooms are found among ruins in the Southwestern United States, indicating uses by the ancient peoples of the region including the ancestral Puebloans, the Mogollon, and the Hohokam.[1] Those used by the ancient Pueblos of the Pueblo I Period and following, designated by the Pecos Classification system developed by archaeologists, were usually round and evolved from simpler pit-houses. For the Ancestral Puebloans, these rooms are believed to have had a variety of functions, including domestic residence along with social and ceremonial purposes.[2]

  1. ^ Pecina 2012.
  2. ^ Markovich, Nicholas; Preiser, Wolfgang; Sturm, Fred (2015). Pueblo Style and Regional Architecture. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-39883-7.