The Idea of the Kiva in Anasazi Archaeology

The architectural term “kiva” was fixed in archaeological usage prior to the establishment of a systematic, self-critical field of Southwestern archaeology. Early development of the idea of the kiva reflected the Southwesternists' political concern for the Pueblos, and government policy toward the Pueblos. Alternate interpretations of kivas are both possible and useful. Through the Pueblo III period, structures called kivas probably functioned as domestic architecture, analogous to the earlier pit house.