Kiva Ladder
by Lynn Sprowl
Title
Kiva Ladder
Artist
Lynn Sprowl
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Throughout the pueblo you see distinctive ladders resting against the houses. A double ladder indicates that the building is a kiva or sacred building. Kiva ladders also have pointed tips, believed to pierce the clouds and bring rain. Some also have a stylised cloud-shaped bar across the three poles.
These kivas would once have been round, but our guide told us that after they had been destroyed by the Spanish invaders they were rebuilt with square walls to look more like normal houses and fool the enemy. But you can spot a kiva as it has no door; entry is only by the ladder, whereas in the case of the houses the ladders are used just for access to the upper floors.
Strategically built atop a 357-foot sandstone mesa for defensive purposes, the Acoma Pueblo is more familiarly known as Sky City today. Believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States, the pueblo was built sometime between 1100 and 1250 A.D. The name “Acoma” means “People of the White Rock” in the Puebloan Kersan dialect.
Uploaded
January 17th, 2024
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