Piercing the heart

I recently read that a slab toppled into the Square Tower House at Mesa Verde. Apparently, it demolished one wall of the kiva, and the archaeologist reporting it was unexpectedly blase about that.

For those unaware, the kiva is considered the heart of a Pueblo. It is where rituals, both societal and religious, are held. It is the most sacred place in the community. There are very strict rules for your conduct within the kiva.

It hurt to hear that a kiva had been violated like this, but to hear someone who should know better talk about it the way one would talk about a change in the weather was just painful.