Community Spaces at Pueblo III Pithouse Villages in Northeastern Arizona

Summary

Southwestern archaeologists identify the pithouse-to-pueblo transition as a fundamental change in the social and economic organization of small-scale farming communities. This interpretation implies that pithouse villages were organized differently than pueblos. In northeastern Arizona, pithouses were used after this transition and were the preferred form of housing in certain areas, such as Homol’ovi during the A.D. 1100s. However, systematic research on these "out of phase" pithouse villages is limited. I analyze the design and layout of community spaces, especially plazas and public structures, from well-documented 12th century pithouse sites in northeastern Arizona to investigate the organization of Pueblo III pithouse villages.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• Homol'ovi: A Gathering Place

Keywords

Spatial Coverage