The Hopi share cultural connections to other tribes such as the Zuni, Jimez and Taos, which are all known as Pueblo cultures. One connection among these tribes is how they built their pueblos, which are large multi-family dwellings, in some ways like modern apartment buildings. Pueblos are built with stone and mud plaster or with mud bricks and mud plaster, and tend to be the same design among the various Pueblo peoples. Hopi pueblos tended to be large, and were four to five stories with several plazas and courtyards. Building a life-size pueblo is an adventurous undertaking -- and you should check with the zoning board in your city before doing so. However, building a model or child-sized pueblo can be a fun and entertaining project.
- Logs
- Water
- Land
- Dirt
- Sticks
- Brick form
- Stones
- Shovel
- String
- Stakes
- Hammer
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Instructions
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1
Make the mud bricks with the brick form. Mix water with dirt until it is malleable but will maintain its shape if left alone. Set the mud into the brick form, remove the brick form and repeat until you run out of room or obtain the amount of bricks needed. Let the bricks dry in the sun.
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2
Build the walls with the bricks, layering them so the next layer goes over half of one brick and half of another brick. Or obtain stones and build walls with them using the same pattern.
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3
Build the plaza and courtyards with the mud bricks.
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4
Make the mud plaster and plaster the walls with it.
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5
Cut or otherwise obtain sticks or small logs that are longer than the buildings. Set them on top of the walls. Set the branches on the logs. Put mud on top of the sticks and logs. Smooth the mud.
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6
Build several ladders. Lean each ladder against one of the buildings.