aptations to survive the harsh seasons. Similar to cliff-dwellings, Zuni domiciles are long, boxed ranches of adobe, crisscrossed in squares, piled up and receding from the one below to form a massive pyramid resembling a broken flight of stairs (Cushing, 48). The structure is a honeycomb hill of mud connected by ladders, rafters, chimneys, and irregular fences enclosing gardens. The adobe buildings offer the Zuni protection from the elements. The adobe clay is unscathed when the strong winds begin to blow across the desert and raise red clouds of scouring sand into the air. The clay fences provide barriers for their precious gardens from winds that would otherwise destroy the crops. Livestock is housed in adobe corrals, giving the animals shade. Cool in the summer, the buildings are also easy to heat when temperatures plummet. Before the American Government changed it, the Zuni were practicing a system of floodwater irrigation over a wide area, cultivating over ten thousand acres of corn. Once herded onto reservations by impoundment teams the Zuni became sheepherders (Tedlock, 24). Zuni society is still relatively dependent upon the corn they harvest. With the means of their crop support badly hampered, Zuni began growing crops in arroyo’s, little declevities between hills or mountains to provide a natural barrier against elemental forces. Planters provide for his household willfully, delineating jobs to the younger males within the household. Once an arroyo is secured, boundaries are marked with stones bearing images declaring ownership of the property. Land ownership is granted once a man has “pulled the sand” or cultivated the land (Cushing, 273). Once the surrounding sagebrush is cleared from the desired arroyo plot, the plants are burned in the center of the plot and then the ashes dispersed across area. The earth is then hoed, tilling the soil to mix the ashes with the earth. Fertilizers are not used ...
