Basketmaker III Era

The Basketmaker III Era (AD 500 to 750) also called the "Modified Basketmaker" period, was the third period in which Ancient Pueblo People were cultivating food, began making pottery and living in more sophisticated clusters of pit-house dwellings. Hunting was easier with the adoption of the bow and arrow.

In the Basketmaker III Era people continued to live in pit-houses, but the architecture changed. Now the houses were larger, included division on the space into sections, a large central hearth, addition of vestibules, and slabs of stone were used to line the walls.

Most pit-houses were built out in the open on tops of mesas. Pit-houses were built in a hole several feet deep between 8 to 20 feet (2.4 to 6.1 m) in diameter. A log frame was built to support side walls and a roof that were covered with woven reeds, grass and, lastly, mud for weatherproofing. In the center of a roof was an opening used for ventilation and an entrance to the dwelling. Some pit-houses had an attached storage room.

Mesa Verde. Small groupings of pit houses were built on the top of mesas.

Chaco Canyon. From about AD 450-700 more than 200 Basketmaker sites sat on Chaco Canyon mesas, ridges, and the canyon floor. The sites had clusters of 1-20 pit-houses. One of its villages, Shabik'eschee, was the type site for this period. Although most village sites were relatively small during this period, Shabik'eschee (about AD 550 - 700) contained 18 pit-houses for an estimated 77 people, more than 50 storage pits, and a large pit-house used for celebration and rituals. This compares to an average settlement for 5 to 15 people. The large pit-house was likely a "great" kiva. Based on the number of extra pit-houses for storage, it is possible that the village was visited from nearby settlers.

Pleasant View, Colorado. There may have been pressure within the Basketmaker III communities to ensure their safety. encircled pit-houses in at least 11 sites within a 10 miles of Pleasant View, Colorado. The settlements (dated from AD 600-700) could have been fenced to ensure safety of children or contain domesticated dogs and turkeys. It is considered is more likely that they were built as a defensive measure, based upon extensive collections of burnt artifacts from the sites. A theory is that other local people may have waged war having felt displaced by the number of new Basketmaker III settlements in the area.

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