It’s a hot summer morning in 1521, and you have a lot to do. You and your little sister go to the lake to get water. She’s just old enough to do this chore.
You have to help her keep the pottery jar on top of her head as you walk back to your village. You wave to your best friend, who’s learning how to use porcupine quills to decorate the fabric her father wove. Later, you all watch the adults perform the Corn Dance. In one line, you see your father shaking a gourd rattle. In the other line, your mother carries pine branches.
In the 1500s, the Southwest was home to many Native American people. Some lived in pueblos, or villages, and were farmers. Not many trees grew in the desert. So, some of the people who lived there built houses out of mud, rocks, and adobe. Adobe is a mixture of sandy clay and straw that is formed into bricks and dried.
