Kiva in Frijolles Canyon, New Mexico

In general kiva's are rectangular, semi-subterranean, roof-entered rooms with a raised stone platform at one end. T the centre are stone-lined pits, looked upon as the entrance to the earth from the lower world. The pits symbolize Sipapu, a mysterious place in the north where man first entered the world from the underground. They are oriented on a northwest-southeast axe. Kiva's were built by ceremonial societies, clan groups or individuals. They are used by many different groups of different clans and societies and clans for ceremonies or men's leisure activities such as weaving and stone chipping. In the pueblo communities all activity was directed by the religious societies that met in the kiva's. They were responsible for separate and specific community functions such as the appointment of civil officers, hunting, curing and the defence of the town. Each society had its own priesthood, members of the different priesthoods made up the council of the town. This council determined pueblo policies, initiated ceremonial events and sat in judgement on persons accused of witchcraft, crimes and offences. In a dual system such as that of the Cochiti Pueblo the three headmen of the medicine societies selected the principal officials of the tribe. For each office a governor and a lieutenant were appointed, from opposite societies. This was done to maintain the balance between the societies. Membership in a religious society was in some communities a choice made at birth by the father or mother of the child. Other possibilities for a person to become a member of a religious society were by volunteering, trespassing into a restricted area during a ritual, illness or by selection by a society. Although most members were in a society for life it was possible to change membership. Women were generally, though not always, excluded from religious societies. The kiva's were used by the societies to keep their sacred objects such as prayer sticks, painted and feathered masks and costumes for kachina dancers. A boy was first brought into a kiva between the ages of five and ten, to receive preliminary initiation in to the rituals of the society. They were confronted by masked "scare kachina's" who whipped them to drive badness out of them. Between the ages of eleven and fourteen they were brought in to the kiva's again. They were lashed once more after which the kachina's took of their masked. The boys were threatened with punishment if they failed to guard the secret. An initiation was very elaborate. Depending on the society it could take six, twelve or even eighteen months. Alvin M. Josephy Jr (1975) "The Indian Heritage of America", The Chaucer Press Ltd, Bungay Suffolk (p.161-7) Alfonso Ortiz (vol. ed.) (1979) "Handbook of North American Indians - vol. 9 Southwest", Smithsonian Institution Washington (p. 262, 273-4, 372-3, 484-5, 502, 590) Postcards Theme: Archaeological When Hernando de Soto set foot in Florida in 1539 he found villages that resembled those of the Aztec in Mexico, here the search for gold began. One year later Francisco de Coronado would reach the Southwest of what today are the United States. He was searching for the legendary “Seven Cities of Cibola”, looking for gold that did not exist. 300 years later other explorers would reach the same regions, looking for gold and more. During the end of the 19th century archeological sites became more and more noted by people traveling trough the country. Soon people began to visit them. Expeditions, mostly private initiatives, consisting of scientists, writers and photographers visited the sites. In the Soutwest, for example, they became enchanted by the clifdwellings and their lost civilizations. Soon after, accounts of their adventures were publicized in newspapers and reports. The public’s attention was drawn to the different archeological areas and with the railroads expanding trough the country that same public went to visit the sites themselves. The legend of the “Seven Cities of Cibola” also made people go to archeological areas, and with them often came permanent settlement. During the end of the century tourism was well established in the archeological areas. Unfortunately visitors started to loot the sites and concern for the different sites began to grow. Nationally and regionally people joined together to protect the sites from looting and digging. Their effort was not lost. In June 1906 President Teddy Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act. The sites were now protected by the government from looting and digging. The signing of the Act also caused the general public to get interested in archeology on the different sites. Public programs were started to take care of the artifacts and to study the different sites. With the Great Depression of the 1930s archeology profited greatly from the New Deal. The purpose of the New Deal was to provide relief to a part of the population and to reform the economic system. Thousands of people were put to work on sites throughout the country. Now in stead of only artifacts whole villages and mounds were excavated. For the first time community and house plans were looked at. Large quantities of artifacts were excavated until the beginning of World War II when people were put to work in factories. The New Deal had a large impact even until far after World War II. Even today materials found during the 1930s are used in reports of investigation. Pieter Hovens: Indianen van Noord-Amerika (1977 Van Gorcum, Assen/Amsterdam) p. 52, 53 Duane A. Smith: Mesa Verde National Park – Shadows of the Centuries (1988 University Press of Kansas) p. 10, 13-15 www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/anti1906.htm (10-8-2006) www.cr.nps.gov/archeology/cg/vol_2num1/commit.htm (17-8-2006) www.cr.nps.gov/archeology//SITES/Antiquities/about.htm (18-8-2006) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#United_States (18-8-2006)

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11840/849047