Let It Burn

Let It Burn. We built these rooms just to burn them down. How the Burn was Born, Chevelon in a Nutshell , In the summers of 2003 through 2006, archaeologists from Arizona State Museum and volunteers from Earthwatch excavated the ancestral Hopi village of Chevelon which is located 9 miles from Homolovi. , Work on the site showed that there was a much higher percentage of burning found there than at all other sites in the area. This raised questions as to why so many rooms had been burned. , Reasons to Burn , Here are some reasons the ancient rooms at Chevelon may have burned: , . Accidental Environmental (wildfire, lightning or spontaneous combustion) , . Conflicts/ Violence , . Community Related (ritual closing, remodeling or pest control), Archaeologists, hoping to be able to see which of these reasons best explains the fires at Chevelon pueblo, built and burned pueblo rooms of their own and in collaboration with fire investigators analyzed the charred remains. , Reconstructing the Past , Using materials identical to those recovered in excavations at Chevelon, the team built replica pueblo rooms. The walls were constructed with sandstone rocks and mud mortar. The roof was constructed in layers consisting of several large main beams overlaid with smaller cross beams. A layer of small branches and brush was laid over this and then topped with a final finishing layer of earth. , Learning from the Burning , 1. Accidental fire originating from the cooking hearth was not successful at igniting the roof., 2. Intentional fire, simulated by igniting the ceiling with a torch, easily caused the roof to collapse in 10 minutes. , 3. In accidental or intentional fires, closing the roof hatch (a common feature in pueblos) and opening side entrances greatly increases the burning. , Did you know ? , Corn can spontaneously combust under the right conditions. Native American pueblos had storage spaces to hold harvested corn and it is thought that some burned structures at archaeological sites are the results of this igniting process.