About the year a.d. 900, the pit house inhabitants 

 embarked on a program that was eventually to alter radi- 

 cally their way of life. They built a cluster of four rooms 

 or so with contiguous walls of stone masonry on top of the 

 ground. Thus came into being a "pueblo," which means 

 "village" and implies the so-called honeycomb structure of 

 adjoining rooms, with stone-masonry partitions that served 

 as a common wall for two rooms. This arrangement is 

 a great economy in efTort. The old-time subterranean 

 abodes were retained as places of worship and rituals and 

 still are today, called "ki-va" — or, literally, "house-old" — 

 a most appropriate appellation. 



Canyon, New Mexico, about 100 miles southeast of Lowry. 



Eventually, the pueblo encompassed 50 rooms, and was 

 two stories high. If all the rooms were simultaneously 

 occupied, Lowry may have housed a population of about 

 60 to 100. 



About A.D. 1200, the town was abruptly abandoned. 

 Personal and family items were left behind when the people 

 moved out. 



Why was this pueblo abandoned? Why were hundreds 

 of other towns also forsaken- mostly in the 13th century? 

 Many explanations have been suggested, although none 

 of them has been set up as a hypothesis to be tested. I 



These two photos show the Great Kiva as it was when first found and as it looks today. 



Nearly 50 feet in diameter, the Great Kiva was the religious center of the Pueblo, and may 



have served the same function for nearby satellite communities. 



I am unable to give the explanation for this great change, 

 but I am fairly sure it was brought about by a modification 

 in some aspect of their culture, svich as a shift in the econ- 

 omy, in the sociology, in the religion, or in all three. It 

 was certainly an adaptation to a changing environment. 



As the families extended through marriage, more rooms 

 were added. When a daughter married, she brought her 

 husband (from a nearby village) to live with her and 

 her family, and more rooms were added to make space 

 for the additional people. Family "suites" can be clearly 

 observed by noting architectural featiwes, connecting doors, 

 and similiarities in masonry styles. 



Staple foods were beans, corn, and squash, phis meats 

 obtained by hunting deer, antelope, mountain sheep, elk, 

 and smaller mammals. 



As the town grew in size, it became gradually more 

 important. A Great Kiva some 47 feet in diameter was 

 built, which is twice or three times as big as the smaller 

 kivas. It is possible that this feature, the only one in the 

 immediate area, also served nearby satellite communities. 



The Great Kiva and much of the pottery are stylis- 

 tically similar to great kivas and the pottery found in Chaco 



think we can definitely rule out epidemics, invasions, or 

 meteoritic showers. 



Two possibilities remain: a change in the pattern of 

 rainfall so that moisture came at the wrong time of year to 

 make possible the successful raising of crops. If farmers 

 cannot grow crops, they cannot eat — and one solution is 

 to move on. Where they moved is not known. 



The second possible explanation is that the people had 

 progressed as far as they could. Without a new technology 

 for growing crops or new source of energy, they were 

 doomed. 



After we finished ovir work, Lowry Pueblo was again 

 abandoned — the first time, about a.d. 1200, and the second 

 time, in 1934. .'Knd there this ancient village stood, un- 

 tended, unwanted, unnecessary. 



It remained in obscurity until just three years ago. In 

 1965, Dr. Robert Lister, Professor of Anthropology, Uni- 

 versity of Colorado, Boulder, in cooperation with the United 

 States Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Manage- 

 ment, recommended that Lowry Pueblo be set aside as a 

 "National Historic Landmark." 



I am indebted to the Colorado State Director of the 



Pnse S .APRIL 



