ousehold. Each family occupied several rooms and built additional ones as it grew. Severalrelated families constituted a clan which may well have been matrilineal (descentthrough the female line) in organization. If the analogy with current Hopipractice is correct, each clan had its own kiva and rights to its own agriculturalplots. Mesa Verdes economy was more complex than might appear at first glance. Even within a small agricultural community there undoubtedly were persons moreskilled than others at weaving or leather working or making potter, arrow points,jewelry, baskets, sandals, or other specialized articles. Their efficiency gave thema surplus, which they shared of bartered with neighbors. This exchange went onbetween communities too. Seashells from the coast, turquoise, pottery, and cottonfrom the south were some of the items that found their way to Mesa Verde,passed along from village to village or carried by traders on foot over a far flungnetwork of trails.The finest Anasazi baskets were produced at an early stage of their culturebefore they learned how to make pottery. Using the spiral twilled technique, theywove handsomely decorated baskets of many sizes and shapes and used them forcarrying water, storing grain and even cooking They waterproofed their basketsby lining them with pitch and cooked in them by dropping heated stones into thewater. The most common coiling material was split willow, but sometimesrabbitbrush or skunkbrush as used. After the introduction of pottery about A.D.550, basketry declined. The few baskets found here from the classic period are ofinferior workmanship. The Ansazi of Mesa Verde were accomplished potters. They made vessels ofall kinds: pots, bowls, canteens, ladles, jars and mugs. Corrugated ware was usedmostly for cooking and storage; the elaborately decorated black-on-white waremay have had ceremonial as well as everyday uses. Women were the potters of thecommunity. Their de...
