Betatakin

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Betatakin at Navajo National Monument in Northern Arizona

This site was occupied as a permanent residence between about 1267 and 1300 A.D.The large grotto is in the Navajo sandstone and is located on the north side of a canyon which is adjacent to the visitor's center for the park. This verdant canyon is a tributary of Tsegi Canyon which has is a broad, flat profile and probably provided a farming area for this site as well as for Keet Seel which is about 8 miles to the north. Most pueblo sites are located on the north side of canyons because this provides shelter from the north wind and exposure to the sun.The grotto provides shelter from the rain and snow both for the residents and the buildings. The sandstone blocks which make the structures are cemented together with mud and small fragments and would soon disintegrate in rain and snow storms.

This site housed about 150 people. The structures here consist of small rooms for living quarters, grinding rooms, granaries and other storage roo. Evidently only one kiva has been found. A kiva is normally a circular, stone-lined, subterranean pit which usually consisted of a fireplace in the center, an external vertical air shaft which brought fresh air in via a horizontal tunnel near the floor. A stone bench may circle the interior and a roof of timbers and thatch is supported on the sides. A hatchway in the roof provides access to the interior via a ladder.Kivas in the cliff dwellings appear to be about 15 feet in diameter and about 8 feet high. These kivas are a hallmark of Anasazi culture. They were probably used for religious ceremonies, instruction of youths on history and traditions and for other tribal and community functions. One other interesting feature of the kivas a small hole in the floor which represents the place of the original emergence of the Anasazi ancestors from the underworld.

1. View from across the valley 2.

3. 4.

This site housed about 150 people. The structures here consist of small rooms for living quarters, grinding rooms, granaries and other storage roo. Evidently only one kiva has been found. A kiva is normally a circular, stone-lined, subterranean pit which usually consisted of a fireplace in the center, an external vertical air shaft which brought fresh air in via a horizontal tunnel near the floor. A stone bench may circle the interior and a roof of timbers and thatch is supported on the sides. A hatchway in the roof provides access to the interior via a ladder.Kivas in the cliff dwellings appear to be about 15 feet in diameter and about 8 feet high. These kivas are a hallmark of Anasazi culture. They were probably used for religious ceremonies, instruction of youths on history and traditions and for other tribal and community functions. One other interesting feature of the kivas a small hole in the floor which represents the place of the original emergence of the Anasazi ancestors from the underworld.
	1. View from across the valley	2.

	3.	4.