Kiva

at Pecos pueblo, New Mexico. This is a reconstruction. Features common to all kivas, a place of ceremonial ritual, include an entry way though the roof which also served as a chimney; a ventilator shaft (the hole in the wall to the left the ladder); a deflector to shield the fire from drafts; fire pit; and the sipapu  a small hole or depression in the floor (just out of the picture) symbolizing the Pueblo people's emergence from the underworld in their beginning.