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What is the Southwest Culture Like? The southwest tribes lived in several different homes. One kind was something like an apartment house. It was named a pueblo by the Spanish. It resembles houses stair-stepped on top of each other. They are made of rocks or mud bricks call adobe. The adobe is created by mixing grass and clay together and then baked in an oven or dried in the sun. Then, the bricks are stacked together with mud in-between them. These homes are very cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The Hopi and Pueblo tribes lived in pueblos. The Anasazi lived in similar mud homes, but were built high on the side of mountains. They looked at bit like cave dwellings, but were really made with of mud bricks. Another kind of
home is called a hogan. The Navajo lived in these round
Food
Back to Top The women of
the Navaho wove blankets that were worn in cold
The Hopi believed
in many gods. They made Kachina dolls to talk with Page constructed by B. Jones - Technology Instructor Specialist with the Bellevue, Nebraska Public Schools (BA and MS in Elementary Education and Curriculum and Instruction) Updated: 10/25/2005 01:49:36 PM Pictures of earthlodge was found at the
following site:
http://www.stuhrmuseum.org/tourlodge.htm at the Stuhr museum in
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The
Southwest Culture comes from the deserts of the Southwest. This area
is now Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, parts of Texas, and parts of Colorado. These
tribes needed to become experts at surviving with little or no water.
The average rain that falls in this area is about 10 inches. In
Nebraska we get about 30 inches of rainfall a year. Each Southwest
tribes had rules about water. They carefully taught their children
that water was precious. 
homes made
of logs. In between the logs, Navajo builders sealed the cracks with
mud. The ceiling was very beautiful. From the inside, the
ceiling looked like different triangles and rectangles. A hole
in the roof let out smoke and let in light.
The Southwest cultures grew corn, beans, and squash. They hunted
deer, rabbits, rattlesnakes, and other animals that were found in their desert regions.
They also raised turkeys
for their meat.
Some of the tribes lived near or in the mountains. Corn was very
important to these tribes. They made bread out of ground corn, mixed
it with water, and fried it on hot rocks or in special outdoor ovens.
and knives
were made out of a stone called obsidian or flint. They also created pots out of
native clay and are known for their beautiful pots. Pot making is still an important way for Southwest culture peoples
to make money. All the Southwest Cultures are also known for their jewelry
making skills. 
weather. They also
put the woven rugs on the floors of their hogans. In the old days,
many of the Southwest Culture wore some clothes made of woven yucca
plants. The Hopi men wove cloth for blankets, clothing, and belts.
All the native people in this area wore moccasins on their feet made of
some kind of animal skin. They also wore cotton cloth clothes that
they wove themselves.
those gods. Kochinas spirits or gods lived in the mountains. The dolls were
created to teach children about their gods. Men would dress up as a
Kachina and they believed that when they were in costume, they had great
magic powers.