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Settlement Organization
by Kristin A. Kuckelman
1
In this section, I examine the
physical organization of Castle Rock Pueblo from several perspectives: the
physical layout of buildings, plazas, and middens; the rate and sequence of
building construction; and variation in styles of architecture among
different residence groups or areas of the
site. These topics are of interest because, first, architectural layout
can reflect aspects of the inhabitants' social organization (Lipe and Hegmon 1989*1:21). Second, the rate and sequence
of building construction can tell us how quickly people moved from
scattered hamlets to aggregated villages such as Castle Rock
Pueblo during the thirteenth century, an important aspect of settlement in
the Mesa Verde region that is still poorly understood (Varien
1999*1; Varien and Kuckelman 1999*2). And third,
stylistic variations in architecture might reflect differences in social
rank or
status.
Village Layout
2
Evidence
indicates that buildings at Castle Rock Pueblo were constructed in suites
of two to six surface rooms with an associated kiva nearby; these are commonly
called kiva suites. The settlement at Castle Rock Pueblo thus may be
thought of as a concentration of individual kiva suites. Sand Canyon
Pueblo represents a different style of late Pueblo III village in which
kiva suites were grouped into large, contiguous architectural
blocks. In addition, some of the architectural blocks at Sand Canyon
Pueblo (Block 300, for example) were composed not of conventional kiva
suites, but almost entirely of surface rooms, which may indicate use
specialization. Another characteristic of Castle Rock organization,
typical of villages in the Sand Canyon locality (Adler
1994*1:94), is that each residence cluster appears to have had its own
midden, rather than there having been only one or a few locations for
refuse disposal shared by the entire village. These characteristics may
indicate that the growth of this village was less planned and more
piecemeal (Lightfoot et al. 1992*1:17) than that of a
village like Sand Canyon Pueblo, which is interpreted as having been at
least partly
preplanned (Bradley 1993*1).
3
The
Castle Rock site plan (Database Map 509) shows that the residence
clusters (or kiva suites) form several larger clusters of buildings in five
areas: at the southeast edge of the site; against the south face of the
butte; against the north face and on top of the butte; at the northeast
edge of the site; and at the northwest edge of the site. Although it is
not apparent from the site plan, these clusters are at least partly a
result of the topography of the site (Database Map 510). The
structures at the southeast edge of the site are in a relatively level
area, but the ground surface between them and Structure 102 slopes steeply.
Another rocky, sloping area lies northwest and northeast of Structure 102.
The area occupied by the structures against the south face of the butte is
relatively level, but just south of it the ground slopes steeply down to
the exposed bedrock of the plaza. There is also a steep slope between the
structures against the north face of the butte (Structures 302 and 304) and
those separated to the north. Some of this clustering was probably
intentional, however, and reflects residence groups that were related or
affiliated in some way. These clusters could have been equivalent to the
architectural blocks present at Sand Canyon Pueblo, which could be
important for understanding the sociopolitical organization of these
villages.
4
Two possible plazas were identified at the site
(Lightfoot et al. 1992*1:17). One is an area of exposed
bedrock south of the butte that is bordered on the south by an
intentionally placed row of boulders. The other is an open area near the
north edge of the site that is enclosed by structures to the east and west
and by a site-enclosing wall to the north. See "Public Architecture" in "Architecture" for a discussion of
these
possible plazas.
5
The buildings on the butte must be mentioned here as
part of the layout of the village, just as the butte itself must be seen as
an integral, though natural, component of the village. These buildings are
discussed in more detail in the following section and in
"Architecture" and "Chronology."
Rate and Sequence of
Construction
6
The available tree-ring
dates for Castle Rock Pueblo suggest that construction of the village
got off to a slow start. The earliest structure was Structure 204 (a
partly underground kiva), which was probably built in A.D. 1256 (see Table 1 in "Chronology"). We found no remnants
of surface rooms near this
kiva.
7
There is no evidence of more
construction until Structure 206 (a completely underground kiva) was built
four years later. This new construction could have been the result either
of the arrival of a new residence group or of internal growth of the
existing group. A north-south row of surface rooms to the west, including
Structure 205, appears to have been built and used by the same residence
group that built the kiva. Additional rooms might have been built at that
time by the same residence group. The nearness of Structure 206 to the
two-story rooms wedged between the boulder to the east and the butte face,
and to the rooms on top of the boulder, suggests that these buildings were
associated with one another.
8
In A.D.
1261, Structure 302 (a kiva) was built near the north face of the butte.
The nearness of Structures 305 (a tower), 306 (an alcove room), 308
(a room), and 309 (another alcove room) indicates that these structures, as
well as Structure 301 and others that were on top of the butte, were built
and used by the same residence group that used the kiva. Three years
later, another tower (Structure 401) was built, this one along the edge of
an arroyo at the northwest edge of the village (also see "Towers" in "Architecture"). The purpose of
this tower is unknown, but testing revealed that its original floor
contained evidence of food preparation. The final floor contained a hearth and household tools. This
tower might have been built for a special purpose by a residence group
already living in the village, such as the group in Structure 302. Or it
might have been built by a new group, along with undated Structures 402 (a
kiva), 408 (a D-shaped enclosure), and 407 (a room); these structures are
closely
spaced and could have been a residence cluster.
9
Tree-ring dates indicate that the next structure to
be built, in A.D. 1265, was Structure 101 (a kiva) at the southeast edge of
the site. It is unclear which other structures in this area, if any, were
built by this new residence group at the same time.
10
In the next year, Structure 105, an oversized and
probably communal kiva, was constructed in a central position just south of
the butte. Thus, by A.D. 1266 the small village contained enough residents
to warrant building a communal structure. Perhaps one or more of the
nearby, undated kivas (Structures 110, 104, 103, and 102) or the undated
structures at the southeast edge of the site (Structures 107, 108, 112, and
125) had also been built by this time. In any case, a minimum of four and
a maximum of 12 residence groups were living in the village by 1266.
11
Two years later, Structure 405 (a kiva)
was built at the northeast edge of the village. This structure was
probably built at the same time as the rest of a cluster consisting of two
additional kivas (Structures 405, 406), a one-story surface room (Structure
403), and an adjacent two- to three-story building (Structure 404/409/410).
Limited excavation in the lower room (Structure 404) exposed a subfloor
feature indicating that food processing had occurred there, among other
activities. The construction of this cluster seems to indicate the arrival
or creation of two new residence groups. These groups might have been
related in some way, because the surface buildings were constructed as a
unit and the cluster lies some distance from other buildings.
Site-enclosing walls were then constructed, one between the northwest
corner of Structure 403 and the east wall of Structure 401, and another
beginning at the southeast corner of Structure 404, trending southward.
12
The latest tree-ring date for the site is
a noncutting date of A.D. 1274, from Structure 304, a kiva. There is no
cluster of cutting dates to indicate when this kiva was built, but it was
either built or still being repaired after A.D. 1274. The surface rooms
possibly used by the same residence group include adjacent, undefined rooms
east of the kiva, along with Structure 307/310 (a tower). Although little
remains of Structure 307 today, historic photographs show that this
building, perched on a ledge midway up the butte face, was originally at
least two stories tall (Figure 1). If so, its roof could have provided one of only
three possible access routes to the top of the butte. Another route was a
narrow, inclined ledge on the north face of the butte below Structure 301,
and the third could have been created by placing a ladder on the roof of
Structure 305.
13
From data gathered
during excavations, it appears that all structures in the village except
Structures 108, 126, 304, and 308 were still in use until the occupation
ended. The rate and sequence of construction suggests that the village
grew slowly at first. Later, however, the rate of construction increased,
and during the A.D. 1260s, new structures were built almost every year. On
the basis of these data, it is believed that the movement of individual
families or residence groups from dispersed hamlets to this aggregated village occurred
primarily during the 1260s.
Stylistic Differences in Architecture
14
Differences in architectural style can indicate differences in the
status or rank of village residents (Flannery 1972*2:45; Lekson
1984*1:271), differences in the time of construction of various parts of a
village, or the presence of different kin, social, religious, or political
groups in distinct areas of a village. A substantial amount of variation
could indicate that new arrivals came from widely scattered, unrelated
hamlets instead of having a more common origin. At Castle Rock Pueblo, no
variations of this sort were detected in the overall quality of the
architecture across the site, in the types of masonry cross sections, or in
the amount of shaping of the stones in the masonry walls exposed. Analyses
of possible differences in artifact assemblages and plant remains are
presented in "Artifacts" and "Plant Evidence."
Summary
15
The settlement organization of Castle Rock Pueblo indicates that this
village grew piecemeal during its 20- to 25-year existence. The layout of
the site shows no evidence of the preplanning evident at other
thirteenth-century villages such as Sand Canyon Pueblo (Bradley 1993*1). Construction began slowly in the mid-A.D. 1250s
but the village grew rapidly during the 1260s, when some impetus prompted a steady
stream of residence groups to abandon their small farming hamlets and join
this growing, defensible village. Groupings of residence clusters suggest
that at least some of the physical organization of the village was affected
by kinship ties. The village itself may have been organized into northern
and southern halves, each with its own plaza. The presence of only one
oversized kiva may symbolize the cohesiveness of the village as a whole.
The lack of noticeable variation in architectural style or quality
indicates a lack of
rank or status differences within the village.
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