Section 3. Main ideas and supporting details.
1. The houses they lived in weren't meant to be permanent dwellings.
As a matter of fact, we have no remaining evidence of their houses.
Probably in the summer time, they lived up on the mesa top near their fields, in temporary structures made of poles and brush.
In winter, they most likely moved down to the caves in the cliffs for warmth and protection against the snow.
2. People were experimenting and changing their methods of potting, the broken pieces are evidence of the steps in the process.
The first attempt at pottery came as women mixed clay, a kind of dirt, with water to make pots.
When the clay dried, however, it crumbled and fell apart. Clearly this wouldn't work.
The second idea was to add extra material to bind the clay together, grass, straw or pieces of bark.
This held the pot together very well until it was set on the fire. Then the binding material burned up, leaving a pot full of holes.
Again the Anasazi women tried to find the secret of success.
They added sand or volcanic grit to the clay to make it harder, and they baked the pot before using them.
This final step proved to be successful, and it is the basic method which is still used today.