Casa Rinconada

Casa Rinconada holds one of the keys to this question of why Pueblo Bonito was built. A short walking distance away from the big pueblo and its hubbub of visitors stood a large, round witness to the greater mysteries of Anasazi culture. This handsome kiva, built with layers of natural stone, is 80 feet in diameter with stone benches running around its interior wall. Above this bench there are niches in the wall that provided as series of shrine spaces for placing ceremonial objects.

Perhaps each village that sent representatives to the ceremonies brought a bundle of sacred relics from their own home kivas and placed those in these niches, imbuing the gathering with the power of over 40 different sacred bundles.

Overhead, massive timbers, upheld by tree trunks, supported the roof. On one side of the kiva is an even deeper underground chamber, a walkway that connects the main floor of the kiva to a small preparation area outside but adjacent to the circular room. Let’s imagine how this very large building might have been used…