The Pueblo people lived in the Southwestern United States in communities called pueblos. They built houses out of adobe, which is mud and straw that is dried into strong bricks. The bricks were stacked to form walls, with gaps filled with mud. Wooden posts inside supported roofs covered with layers of sticks, grass, mud and plaster. Some pueblos contained over 100 rooms and large underground ceremonial chambers called kivas. Adobe houses could only be built in very dry areas due to the material dissolving in rain.

1. Adobe Houses

2. Location
• The Pueblo People lived
in different parts of
Arizona, Utah, New
Mexico, Nevada and
Colorado

3. Materials
• Pueblo Indians did not
have access to tall
grasses for roofs or
buffalo hides to cover
their homes. What they
did have was dirt, rock,
and straw and, with
these materials, they
made their houses in
communities called
pueblos.

4. Adobe House
• They lived in what is called
an Adobe House.
• Adobe is mud and straw
mixed together and dried to
make a strong brick-like
material. Pueblo peoples
stacked these bricks to
make the walls of the
house. Gaps between the
bricks were filled with more
mud to block the wind, rain,
and to keep out bugs and
other unwanted pests.

5. • Wooden posts inside each
room supported the roof
which was covered with
layers of sticks, then
grass, mud, and finally
plaster. Pueblo peoples
plastered their walls and
floors and often painted
them with red, yellow,
white, and black bands.

6. • Some pueblos were
very large with more
than 100 rooms! The
rooms were built in long
rows and could house
many families. Most
pueblos had large
underground rooms
called kivas that were
used for ceremonies
and meetings.

7. • Structures made of
adobe would not stand
up to long periods of
rain—over time they
would dissolve! Adobe
homes were only built
in the very dry parts of
West Texas, New
Mexico, Arizona, Utah,
Colorado, and Mexico.

8. Your Assignment
• Draw and create a
pueblo community
using perspective
techniques to create
the illusion of depth
– Perspective Techniques:
• Overlapping
• Size
• Placement
• Detail
• Color
• Converging Lines