The structure of Anasazi life is difficult to know. Archeology has yielded some information, but without written documents, there is no way to be sure about their social, political, or religious ideas. We must rely for insight on comparisons with the modern Pueblo people of New Mexico and Arizona.
In classic times at Mesa Verde, several generations probably lived together as a household. Each family occupied several rooms and built additional ones as it grew. Several related families constituted a clan, which may well have been matrilineal (descent through the female line) in organization. If the analogy with current Hopi practice is correct, each clan had its own kiva and rights to its own agricultural plots.
The figures above are an idealized view of the Anasazi as individuals. The family is dressed for winter in hides, feathercloth robes and warm foot-wear. The skills of the husband as hunter and the wife as potter are evident. The turkey is an important part of their economy. It provided food and its feathers were used for weaving and its bones for tools.
The farmer holds a stone-tipped digging stick and wears sandals made of yucca, a useful native plant.