When the Anasazi came to Mesa Verde the lived in valleys and coves.  The Basket Maker Period started about two-thousand years ago!  It lasted about A.D. (after death) 550.  The Indians made belts, mats, and baskets.  They made these out of yucca fibers.

The Anasazi built pit houses.  They built these in caves.  They built them on the Mesa tops with rich land around. They could cook better because they could make pottery.

The Ananasazi built their houses close together in small villages now.  They made the houses out of sandstone blocks.  They were later called pueblos by the Spainish.

The Anasazi built their houses in a curved row.  Some stood in a straight line.  There was an open space. In there was a deep pit.  That room was a cerimonial room.  It was called a kiva.