The Anasazi Indians are the best known Indians in the southwest.  The largest dwelling has hundreds of rooms.

The first Anasazi period was called the "Early Basketmaker" phase.  It lasted until 400 A.D.  They made baskets so tightly woven that they could even hold water.  They cooked by putting hot rocks and water in baskets.  The Anasazi’s didn’t just make baskets, they also made sandals out of yucca fiber.

The next period started about  400 A.D.  and was called the Modified Basketmaker phase.  The pit houses had a main room and a storage room.  A fire pit was used for cooking and heating in the main room.  Benches lined the walls sometimes.  The entrance was a hole in the roof that has a ladder through it.  The Anasazi also made pottery.  Turquoise jewelry became popular. 

In 700 A.D.  the Anasazi entered what archaeologists call their developmental Pueblo phase.  Pueblo is a spanish word for city.  The houses show us that Anasazis were beginning to live in larger groups.  We still don’t know why they had roads because they didn’t have mules or oxen or wheeled carts and wagons. 

In 11 A.D.  the Anasazi entered the Great Pueblo phase.  It is the period that is best known for it’s architecture.  The Anasazis used ladders to get into their homes.  If they were being attacked they could simply pull up the ladders so that their enemies couldn’t get in.  The cliff dwellers usually faced the south so that they can get more sun in the winter.  The mesa acts like a solar panel, keeping all the rooms warm.  The Anasazi’s were good traders.  Turquoise was a popular color.  It was traded for tropical birds, copper, shells, and bells.  Some pots and food were also traded.

Religion was an important part of life.  During that time the Anasazis built many Kivas, including the great Kiva at the Aztec National Monument.

 There are many things that we believe caused the Anasazi to leave.  In a few years the Anasazi headed south and southeast where they lived with other pueblo Indians.  They lived in Arizona, Zuni land, New Mexico, and the Rio Grande valley in New Mexico.  Some of these places are left as the Hopi and Zuni villages, and some of the Rio Grande pueblos.