Teachers Guide
1. How was the first pottery made?
The first pottery was made inside baskets.
2. What happened because of the large drought in 1275 A.D.?
It forced the Indians to the river valleys in search of water.
3. What caused the Cliff Dwellers’ teeth to decay and become weak?
The gritty corn meal and pyorrhea.
4. Why did they knock holes in the bottoms of some of their pottery?
So the spirit of the pottery could accompany the spirit of the dead person back thru the Sipapu.
5. What were the Ancestral Puebloan paint brushes made from? How were they made?
The paint brushes were made from yucca leaves. They chewed the end of the yucca leaf.
6. What were some of the toys the children played with?
Stone game balls and small pottery.
Pueblo Museum
1. What are the three parts of an Atlatl?
Thruster, shaft and spear point.
2. What did the Ancestral Puebloan women use to make their jewelry? Name two of the materials used in making of their jewelry.
Shells, bones and stones which were strung with yucca fibers and human hair. Shells, bones, stones, yucca fiber and human hair.
3. Name some of the methods used in hunting jack rabbits and other small animals?
The throwing stick and club (stone/wood).
4. How did the Cliff Dwellers’ cradle board differ from the Basket Makers’ cradle board?
The Cliff Dwellings cradle boards were made from hard wood boards, the Basket Makers cradle boards were made from soft materials (buckskin, blankets or yucca matting) stretched between a wooden frame.
5. How did the Basket Maker people cook in a basket? How did they store water in a basket?
Heated stones were placed in the basket. Tree sap or gum was used to seal the basket.
6. What are the tools needed to build a Basket Maker pithouse?
Digging stick — basket — stone ax.
7. What kind of corn was grown by the Basket Makers?
Flint corn.