An In-Depth Self-Reflection on the Rich Anasazi Culture of America

This essay presents a student's self-reflection on the Anasazi culture, also known as the Ancestral Pueblo culture, focusing on their presence in the southwestern United States. The reflection highlights the culture's emergence with pottery, the tribe's practices as hunters and gatherers, and the significance of pithouse villages and ceremonial kivas. The student expresses interest in the Anasazi's pottery techniques using white and gray clay, along with their production of textiles, jewelry, and baskets. The essay emphasizes the enduring cultural symbolism in Anasazi community structures, the role of religious rituals in health, and the geographical spread of the culture across southwestern Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Arizona. The student aims to gather further insights into the various stages of the Anasazi culture.

Running head: HUMANITIES
Humanities
Student’s Name:
Student’s Id:
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SELF-REFLECTION 1
Self-Reflection
I would like to know more about the Anasazi culture among all other native cultures of
America, because this culture is one of the popular cultures among all. The Anasazi culture is
also known as the Ancestral Pueblo culture, and the tribes of Anasazi reside in the southwestern
regions of America. The culture begins with the introduction of pottery. I was surprised to know
that the people practicing this culture, usually are gatherers and hunters. There are small pueblo
groupings or pithouse in the village of Anasazi people. I understood the fact that they also have a
big structure of ceremony which is known as a kiva. The pithouses are made of jacal, a kind of
daub-and-wattle construction. The pottery of Anasazi is to be made from white and gray clay by
using the technique of scraping and coiling (Schillaci & Lakatos, 2017).
For me, this culture is more interesting as it reveals the native Anasazi tribes and the
evolution of Anasazi. The Anasazi tribe produce other materials of various styles and shapes
such as woven textiles, exquisite jewelry as well as structured baskets. Knowing more about this
culture will be interesting, because the structures of Anasazi communities are built to symbolize
the culture for centuries. The people following Anasazi culture usually participates in religious
rituals as they believe that religion helps in providing good health to people (Nash, 2015). The
Anasazi culture spreads all over southwestern Colorado, New Mexico, and northern Arizona, this
is one of the other reason for knowing about this culture. The tribes of this culture use to locate
in such an area where the water is sufficient. In future I will gather more information about the
various stages of the Anasazi culture.

SELF-REFLECTION 2
References
Nash, S. E. (2015). John Beach Rinaldo: Quintessential Culture Historian. American
Antiquity, 80(3), 571-589.
Schillaci, M. A., & Lakatos, S. A. (2017). The Emergence of Kwahe’e Black-on-white pottery in
the Tewa Basin, New Mexico. Journal of Field Archaeology, 42(2), 152-160.