Pithouses
The pithouse represents the beginnings of a settled way of life, based on agriculture. Its basic features were a living room, squarish in shape and sunk a few feet into the ground, four main timbers at the corners to support the roof, a fire pit with an air deflector, an antechamber, which might contain storage bins or pits, and a sipapu - the symbolic entrance to the underworld.  Pithouses evolved into the kivas of later times. In Mesa Verde, the Anasazi lived in this type of dwelling from about 550 to 750 A.D.

Pithouse

Kiva's
Kiva is a Hopi word for "ceremonial room."  It is thought that the Anasazi may have used them to conduct healing rites or to pray for rain, luck in hunting, or good crops.  Kivas also served as gathering places, and weaving was sometimes done there. A roof of beams and mud covered each kiva; access was by ladder through a hole in the center.