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The Anasazi:  The Ancient Ones
The Navajo Indians of the desert Southwest have a common name for the peoples who inhabited the region before they, themselves, became the dominant tribes.  These people are called the Anasazi.  The word can be translated into two different meanings.  The first translation reads "Ancient Ones", the second is more foreboding.  The "Ancient Enemy".  The Navajo have no history, even an unwritten one, that explains why the Anasazi came to the area, when they came, or even when they left.
Stone Buildings built along the sides  and under the cliffs of Mesas are the best known archaeological sites to find the history of the Anasazi.  These places are now public attractions that are gaining in popularity.  The most well-known of these sites is Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.  There is also a huge area of ruins around Chaco Canyon near the Four Corners Region of New Mexico.  The growing popularity of this last site has forced some of the ruins to be closed to visitors.  When I was in Chaco Canyon last, the Great Kiva's entrance had been sealed off.  I was forced to crawl over the top and drop into the kiva.  

A Kiva is a large, stone-lined pit with a thatched or wooden-beamed roof.  These were used for ceremonial purposes and women were not often admitted. Women would be admitted only when the Kiva served no religious purpose.  Often weaving and other activities were done inside the kiva because it was a cool area below ground.  These kivas still exist today, although many remain unexcavated.  The rooves have long decomposed, so many are now open to the air.  This is the view of the inside of a kiva as one descends through the stairway entrance.
The Kiva has several different parts.  This diagram shows the different sections of the kiva.  The kiva's steps were symbolic of the descent into the underworld.
Click Below for More Anasazi Building Information:
Virtual Kiva
Actually a link to another site.
Internal Kiva Views and Info
Some interesting pictures from the above link with my ideas attached.
Pueblo Bonito Ruins
These pictures and information will be added to by my own photographs soon
Click Below for More Information of Anasazi Culture:
 


Cool Anasazi Links
For more on translations
 http://www.swcolo.org/Tourism/Archaeology/ANASAZI.html