The Chacoan tower kiva sites of Kin Klizhin and Kin Ya'a

Archaeologists continue to question whether to classify circular structures found in the prehistoric Southwest as kivas. This problem has been exacerbated by referring to circular, multistoried structures as tower kivas, thereby implying a ceremonial function. While the so-called tower kiva appears at various sites throughout the Southwest, its function may not necessarily be the same at each site, depending on context of the structure in which it is situated. A multidisciplinary approach can further an understanding of architecture as artifact. Archaeological data, as well as data from other disciplines, accompanied by an understanding of Puebloan cosmology, indicate that the Chacoan structures at two Chacoan outliers, Kin Klizhin and Kin Ya'a, may have functioned primarily as ceremonial centers with additional economic and administrative functions. However, their tower kivas, rather than functioning as kivas in a general sense, may have served as communication towers within a vast, regional network.