Firecracker Pueblo

When the Firecracker investigations began, it was assumed that Firecracker Pueblo would prove to be like many other pueblos of the Jornada region. By 1980 when excavations began, a total of nearly 300 rooms had been excavated from over two dozen Jornada pueblo sites. In general, these rooms are relatively large in size, have hearths near the center of southern or exterior walls, and various patterns of postholes left by roof support posts. Pueblo rooms usually have the same features regardless of whether the site contains one or over 100 rooms. Smaller rooms often have two primary roof supports along the east-west axis of rooms, and larger rooms frequently have four primary roof supports located toward room corners. About one out of every six to ten rooms is much larger than the others and usually has multiple floor features including two hearths and other small pits along the north-south axis. These are thought to have served a special function as suggested by the names applied to them: kivas, communal rooms, and clan rooms. While some of the largest pueblos have rooms arranged around a central plaza, the majority of Jornada pueblo sites consist of one or more room blocks oriented east-west with a single or sometimes a double tier of rooms.

The Firecracker excavations revealed a pueblo with the expected architectural details, although it proved to be larger than foretold by the surface evidence. The pueblo consisted of 15 to 17 rooms in a one- to two-room-wide, linear, east-west room block. The exact number of rooms is uncertain because the walls and floors in the west central portion of the pueblo were badly eroded. The walls were made of coursed adobe, while the floors were plastered caliche.The roofs were probably made of a combination of materials including wood, grass thatch, adobe, and mud plaster. Most rooms ranged in size from 8 to 20 square meters, had hearths near the center of the south wall, and possessed two primary postholes. The largest room is probably a communal room and had four primary postholes, two hearths and small pits along the north-south axis, and a floor area of 54 square meters.

Secondary postholes and miscellaneous pits were encountered in some of the rooms. Posts and beams were of juniper and cottonwood, and secondary posts and smaller beams were of mesquite. Roof materials included mesquite, dropseed grass, reed, and stalks of yucca, agave, and sotol. There was little evidence of modification or maintenance of rooms, suggesting that the pueblo was not long-lived. The construction of the pueblo had begun with a core of two or four rooms, and then more rooms were added to the east and west. Relatively few artifacts were found on the floors, suggesting that Firecracker Pueblo was abandoned in an unhurried manner.

Excavations outside of the room block led to the discovery of a tiny room against the south side of the pueblo. It had an unplastered floor and lacked floor features. A similar room was located 8 meters south of the center of the pueblo room block. Its position above an earlier structure and several outside features suggested that it belonged to the same occupation as the pueblo room block. These "closets" were probably used for storage. Previous excavations in the Jornada region have rarely encountered such rooms, no doubt because most work has focused exclusively on the pueblo rooms proper.

Excavation outside the pueblo also led to the finding of an isolated room that was at the western edge of the site. Certain of its construction details and associated artifacts suggest that it is contemporary with the pueblo room block. This room differed from earlier structures in that it was nearly square in plan, had square corners and substantial adobe walls, was not superimposed by other structures or features, and was not trash-filled. This room had a floor area of 9.4 square meters, no primary roof support, a sealed hearth near the center of the east wall, and another hearth near the center of the south wall. Although not common, isolated rooms have been reported for other Jornada pueblos.