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A Study of Pueblo Architecture

Chapter IV · (continued 2)

Reading edition

Where exceptionally large blocks of stone are available they have been utilized in an upright position, and occur at greater or less intervals along the thin walls of dry masonry. An example of this use was seen in a garden wall on the west side of Walpi, where the stones had been set on end in the yielding surface of a sandy slope among the foothills. A similar arrangement, occurring close to the houses at Ojo Caliente, is illustrated in Pl. XCII. Large, upright slabs of stone have been used by the pueblo builders in many ways, sometimes incorporated into the architecture of the houses, and again in detached positions at some distance from the villages. Pls. XCIII and XCIV, drawn from the photographs of Mr. W. H. Jackson, afford illustrations of this usage in the ancient ruins of Montezuma Canyon. In the first of these cases the stones were utilized, apparently, in house masonry. Among the ruins in the valley of the San Juan and its tributaries, as described by Messrs. W. H. Holmes and W. H. Jackson, varied arrangements of upright slabs of stone are of frequent occurrence. The rows of stones are sometimes arranged in squares, sometimes in circles, and occasionally are incorporated into the walls of ordinary masonry, as in the example illustrated. Isolated slabs are also met with among the ruins. At K’iakima, at a point near the margin of the ruin, occurs a series of very large, upright slabs, which occupy the positions of headstones to a number of small inclosures, thought to be mortuary, outlined upon the ground. These have been already described in connection with the ground plan of this village.

Ojo Caliente wall
Ojo Caliente wall

Plate XCII. An inclosing wall of upright stones at Ojo Caliente.

The employment of upright slabs of stone to mark graves probably prevailed to some extent in ancient practice, but other uses suggest themselves. Occupying a conspicuous point in the village of Kin-tiel (Pl. LXIII) is an upright slab of sandstone which seems to stand in its original position undisturbed, though the walls of the adjoining rooms

sandstone blocks
sandstone blocks

Plate XCIII. Upright blocks of sandstone built into an ancient pueblo wall.

An unusual employment of small stones in an upright position occurs at Zuñi. The inclosing wall of the church yard, still used as a burial place, is provided at intervals along its top with upright pieces of stone set into the joints of a regular coping course that caps the wall. This feature may have some connection with the idea of vertical grave stones, noted at K’iakima. It is difficult to surmise what practical purpose could have been subserved by these small upright stones.

ancient rock wall
ancient rock wall

Plate XCIV. Ancient wall of upright rocks in southwestern Colorado.

Notwithstanding the use of large stones for special purposes the pueblo builders rarely appreciated the advantages that might be obtained by the proper use of such material. Pueblo masonry is essentially made up of small, often minute, constructional units. This restriction doubtless resulted in a higher degree of mural finish than would otherwise have been attained, but it also imposes certain limitations upon their architectural achievement. Some of these are noted in the discussion of openings and of other details of construction.

Pl. XLV, an illustration of a Mormon mill building at Moen-kopi, already referred to in the description of that village, is introduced for the purpose of comparing the methods adopted by the natives and by the whites in the treatment of the same class of material. Perhaps the most noteworthy contrast is seen in the sills and lintels of the openings.

ROOFS AND FLOORS.

In the pueblo system of building, roof and floor is one; for all the floors, except such as are formed immediately on the surface of the ground, are at the same time the roofs and ceilings of lower rooms. The pueblo plan of to-day readily admits of additions at any time and almost at any point of the basal construction. The addition of rooms

roof construction
roof construction
roof construction
roof construction
roof construction
roof construction

Fig. 37. Diagram of Zuñi roof construction.

The methods of roofing their houses practiced by the pueblo builders varied but little, and followed the general order of construction that has been outlined in describing Tusayan house building. The diagram, shown in Fig. 37, an isometric projection illustrating roof construction, is taken from a Zuñi example, the building of which was observed by the writer. The roof is built by first a series of principal beams or rafters. These are usually straight, round poles of 6 or 8 inches in diameter, with all bark and projecting knots removed. Squared beams are of very rare occurrence; the only ones seen were those of the Tusayan kivas, of Spanish manufacture. In recently constructed houses the principal beams are often of large size and are very neatly squared off at the ends. Similar square ended beams of large size are met with in the ancient work of the Chaco pueblos, but there the enormous labor involved in producing the result with only the aid of stone implements is in keeping with the highly finished character of the masonry and the general massiveness of the construction. The same treatment was adopted in Kin-tiel, as may be seen in Pl. XCV, which illustrates a beam resting upon a ledge or offset of the inner walls. The recent introduction of improved mechanical aids has exerted a strong influence on the character of the construction in greatly facilitating execution. The use of the American ax made it a much easier task to cut large timbers, and the introduction of the “burro” and ox greatly facilitated their transportation. In the case of the modern pueblos, such as Zuñi, the dwelling rooms that were built by families so poor as not to have these aids would to some extent indicate the fact by their more primitive construction, and particularly by their small size, in Pl. XCVI, illustrating an unroofed adobe house in Zuñi, shows several bundles of this material on an adjoining roof. This series is in turn covered with a layer of grass and small brush, again at right angles, which prepares the frame for the reception of the final earth covering, this latter being the fifth application to the roof. In the example illustrated the entire earth covering of the roof was finished in a single application of the material. It has been seen that at Tusayan a layer of moistened earth is applied, followed by a thicker layer of the dry soil.

Kin-tiel floor beams
Kin-tiel floor beams

Plate XCV. Ancient floor-beams at Kin-tiel.

In ancient construction, the method of arranging the material varied somewhat. In some cases series 3 was very carefully constructed of straight willow wands laid side by side in contact. This gave a very neat appearance to the ceiling within the room. Examples were seen in Canyon de Chelly, at Mummy Cave, and at Hungo Pavie and Pueblo Bonito on the Chaco.

Again examples occur where series 2 is composed of 2-inch poles in contact and the joints are chinked on the upper side with small

Zuñi walls
Zuñi walls

Plate XCVI. Adobe walls in Zuñi.

The small size of available roofing rafters has at Tusayan brought about a construction of clumsy piers of masonry in a few of the larger rooms, which support the ends of two sets of main girders, and these in turn carry series 1, or the main ceiling beams of the roof. The girders are generally double, an arrangement that has been often employed in ancient times, as many examples occur among the ruins. The purpose of such arrangement may have been to admit of the abutment of the ends of series 1, when the members of the latter were laid in contact. In the absence of squared beams, which seem never to have been used in the old work, this abutment could only be securely accomplished by the use of double girders, as suggested in the following diagram, Fig. 38.

roof beams over girders
roof beams over girders

Fig. 38. Showing abutment of smaller roof beams over round girders.

The final roof covering, composed of clay, is usually laid on very carefully and firmly, and, when the surface is unbroken, answers fairly well as a watershed. A slight slope or fall is given to the roof. This roof subserves every purpose of a front yard to the rooms that open upon it, and seems to be used exactly like the ground itself. Sheepskins are stretched and pegged out upon it for tanning or drying, and the characteristic Zuñi dome-shaped oven is frequently built upon it. In Zuñi generally upper rooms are provided only with a mud floor, although occasionally the method of paving with large thin slabs of stone is adopted. These are often somewhat irregular in form, the object being to have them as large as possible, so that considerable ingenuity is often displayed in selecting the pieces and in joining the irregular edges. This arrangement, similar to that of the kiva floors of Tusayan, is occasionally met with in the kivas.

In making excavations at Kin-tiel, the floor of the ground room in which the circular door illustrated in Pl. C, was found was paved with large, irregular fragments of stone, the thickness of which did not average more than an inch. Its floor, whose paving was all in place, was strewn with broken, irregular fragments similar in character, which must have been used as the flooring of an upper chamber.

WALL COPINGS AND ROOF DRAINS.

In the construction of the typical pueblo house the walls are carried up to the height of the roof surface, and are then capped with a continuous protecting coping of thin flat stones, laid in close contact, their outer edges flush with the face of the wall. This arrangement is still the prevailing one at Tusayan, though there is an occasional example of the projecting coping that practically forms a cornice. This latter is the more usual form at Zuñi, though in the farming pueblos of Cibola

Here the projecting stones are of singularly regular and symmetrical form, and receive very little artificial treatment. Their extreme thinness makes it easy to trim off the projecting corners and angles, reducing them to such a form that they can be laid in close contact. Thus laid they furnish an admirable protection against the destructive action of the violent rains. The stones are usually trimmed to a width corresponding to the thickness of the walls. Of course where a projecting cornice is built, it can be made, to some extent, to conform to the width of available coping stones. These can usually be procured, however, of nearly uniform width. In the case of the overhanging cornices the necessary projection is attained by continuing either the main roof beams, or sometimes the smaller poles of the second series, according to the position of the required cornice, for a foot or more beyond the outer face of the wall. Over these poles the roofing is continued as in ordinary roof construction with the exception that the edge of the earth covering is built of masonry, an additional precaution against its destruction by the rains. In many places the adobe plastering originally applied to the faces of these cornices, as well as to the walls, has been washed away, exposing the whole construction. In some of these instances the face of the cornice furnishes a complete section of the roof, in which all the series of its construction can be readily identified. The protective agency of these coping stones is well illustrated in Pl. XCVII, which shows the destructive effect of rain at a point where an open joint has admitted enough water to bare the masonry of the cornice face, eating through its coating of adobe, while at the firmly closed joint toward the left there has been no erosive action. The much larger proportion of projecting copings or cornices in Zuñi, as compared with Tusayan, is undoubtedly attributable to the universal smoothing of the walls with adobe, and to the more general use of this perishable medium in this village, and the consequent necessity for protecting the walls. The efficiency of this means of protecting the wall against the wear of weather is seen in the preservation of external whitewashing for several feet below such a cornice on the face of the walls. At the pueblo of Acoma a similar extensive use of projecting cornices is met with, particularly on the third story walls. Here again it is due to the use of adobe, which has been more frequently employed in the finish of the higher and newer portions of the village than in the lower terraces. As a rule these overhanging copings occur principally on the southern exposures of the buildings and on the terraced sides of house rows. When walls rise to the height of several stories directly from the ground, such as the back walls of house rows, they are not usually provided with this feature but are capped with flush copings.

Zuñi oven
Zuñi oven

Plate XCVII. Wall coping and oven at Zuñi.

roof drain
roof drain
roof drain
roof drain

Fig. 39. Single stone roof drains.

roof drain
roof drain
roof drain
roof drain

Fig. 40. Trough roof drains of stone.

roof drain
roof drain
roof drain
roof drain

Fig. 41. Wooden roof drains.

These drains are formed by piercing an opening through the thickness of the coping wall, at a point where the drainage from the roof would collect, the opening being made with a decided pitch and furnished with a spout or device of some kind to insure the discharge of the water beyond the face of the wall. These spouts assume a variety of forms. Perhaps the most common is that of a single long, narrow slab of stone, set at a suitable angle and of sufficient projection to throw the discharge clear of the wall. Fig. 39 illustrates drains of this type, No. 1 being a Tusayan example and No. 2 from Zuñi. It will be noted that the surrounding masonry of the former, as well as the stone itself, are much ruder than the Zuñi example. Another type of drain, not differing greatly from the preceding, is illustrated in Fig. 40. This form is a slight improvement on the single stone drain, as it is provided with side Fig. 41 illustrates an example from each province of this form of drain. These are usually made from small tree trunks, not exceeding 3 or 4 inches in diameter, and are gouged out from one side. No tubular specimens of wooden spouts were seen. At Tusayan the builders have utilized stone of a concretionary formation for roof drains. The workers in stone could not wish for material more suitably fashioned for the purpose than these specimens. Two of these curious stone channels are illustrated in Fig. 42. Two more examples of Tusayan roof drains are illustrated in Fig. 43. The first of the latter shows the use of a discarded metate, or mealing stone, and the second of a gourd that has been walled into the coping.

roof drain
roof drain
roof drain
roof drain

Fig. 42. Curved roof drains of stone in Tusayan.

roof drain
roof drain
roof drain
roof drain

Fig. 43. Tusayan roof drains; a discarded metate and a gourd.

In some cases in Zuñi where drains discharge from the roofs of upper terraces directly upon those below, the lower roofs and also the adjoining vertical walls are protected by thin tablets of stone, as shown in Fig. 44. It will be seen that one of these is placed upon the lower roof in such a position that the drainage falls directly upon it. Where the adobe roof covering is left unprotected its destruction by the rain is very rapid, as the showers of the rainy season in these regions, though usually of short duration, are often extremely violent. The force of the torrents is illustrated in the neighboring country. Here small ruts in the surface of the ground are rapidly converted into large arroyos. Frequently ordinary wagon tracks along a bit of valley slope serve as an initial channel to the rapidly accumulating waters and are eaten

roof drain
roof drain

Fig. 44. Zuñi roof drain, with splash stones on roof below.

The shiftlessness of the native builders in the use of the more convenient material brings its own penalty during this season in a necessity for constant watchfulness and frequent repairs to keep the houses habitable. One can often see in Zuñi where an inefficient drain or a broken coping has given the water free access to the face of a plastered wall, carrying away all its covering and exposing in a vertical space the jagged stones of the underlying masonry. It is noticeable that much more attention has been paid to protective devices at Zuñi than at Tusayan. This is undoubtedly due to the prevalent use of adobe in the former. This friable material must be protected at all vulnerable points with slabs of stone in order quickly to divert the water and preserve the roofs and walls from destruction.

LADDERS AND STEPS.

In the inclosed court of the old fortress pueblos the first terrace was reached only by means of ladders, but the terraces or rooms above this were reached both by ladders and steps. The removal of the lower tier of ladders thus gave security against intrusion and attack. The builders of Tusayan have preserved this primitive arrangement in much greater purity than those of Cibola.

In Zuñi numerous ladders are seen on every terrace, but the purpose of these, on the highest terraces, is not to provide access to the rooms of the upper story, which always have external doors opening on the terraces, but to facilitate repairs of the roofs. At Tusayan, on the

The earliest form of ladder among the pueblos was probably a notched log, a form still occasionally used. Figures 45 and 46 illustrate examples of this type of ladder from Tusayan.

notched ladder
notched ladder
notched ladder
notched ladder
notched ladder
notched ladder

Fig. 45. A modern notched ladder in Oraibi. Fig. 46. Tusayan notched ladders from Mashongnavi.

Fig. 46, closely resembles the Oraibi specimen, though the workmanship is somewhat ruder. The example illustrated on the right of the same figure is from Oraibi. This ladder is very old, and its present rough and weatherbeaten surface affords but little evidence of the character of the implement used in making it.

The ladder having two poles connected by cross rungs is undoubtedly a native invention, and was probably developed through a series of improvements on the primitive notched type. It is described in detail in the earliest Spanish accounts. Fig. 47 illustrates on the left the notched ladder, and on the right a typical two-pole ladder in its most primitive form. In this case the rungs are simply lashed to the uprights. The center ladder of the diagram is a Mandan device illustrated by Mr. Lewis H. Morgan.6 As used by the Mandans this ladder is placed with its forked end on the ground, the reverse of the Pueblo practice. It will readily be seen, on comparing these examples, that an elongation of the fork which occurs as a constant accompaniment of the notched ladder might eventually suggest a construction similar to that of the Mandan ladder reversed. The function of the fork on the notched ladder in steadying it when placed against the wall would be more effectually performed by enlarging this feature.

ladder
ladder
ladder
ladder
ladder
ladder

Fig. 47. Aboriginal American forms of ladder.

particularly prevalent in Zuni, has brought about a curious departure from the ancient practice of removing the ladder in times of threatened danger. Long rungs are loosely slipped into the holes in the side pieces, and the security formerly gained by taking up the entire ladder is now obtained, partially at least, by the removal of the rungs. The boring of the side pieces and the employment of loose rungs seriously interferes with the stability of the structure, as means must be provided to prevent the spreading apart of the side pieces. The Zuni architect has met this difficulty by prolonging the poles of the ladder and attaching a cross piece near their upper ends to hold them together. As a rule this cross piece is provided with a hole near each end into which the tapering extremities of the poles are inserted. From their high position near the extremities of the ladders, seen in silhouette against the sky, they form peculiarly striking features of Zuni. They are frequently decorated with rude carvings of terraced notches. Examples of this device may be seen in the views of Zuni, and several typical specimens are illustrated in detail in Pl. XCVIII. The use of cross pieces on ladders emerging from roof openings is not so common as on external ones, as there is not the same necessity for holding together the poles, the sides of the opening performing that office.

There are two places in Zuni, portions of the densest house cluster, where the needs of unusual traffic have been met by the employment of double ladders, made of three vertical poles, which accommodate two tiers of rungs. The sticks forming the rungs are inserted in continuous lengths through all three poles, and the cross pieces at the top are also continuous, being formed of a single flat piece of wood perforated by three holes for the reception of the tips of the poles. In additional to the usual cross pieces pierced for the reception of the side poles and rudely carved into ornamental forms, many temporary cross pieces are added during the harvest season in the early autumn to support the strips of meat and melons, strings of red peppers, and other articles dried in the open air prior to storage for winter use. At this season every device that will serve this purpose is employed. Occasionally poles are seen extending across the reentering angles of a house or are supported on the coping and rafters. The projecting roof beams also are similarly utilized at this season.

Zuni ladders are usually provided with about eight rungs, but a few have as many as twelve. The women ascend these ladders carrying ollas of water on their heads, children play upon them, and a few of the

In Tusayan, where stone is abundant, the ladder has not reached the elaborate development seen in Zuñi. The perforated cross piece is rarely seen, as there is little necessity for its adoption. The side poles are held together by the top and bottom rungs, which pass entirely through the side pieces and are securely fixed, while the ends of the others are only partly embedded in the side pieces. In other cases (Pl. XXXII) the poles are rigidly held in place by ropes or rawhide lashings.

Short ladders whose side poles are but little prolonged beyond the top rung are of common occurrence, particularly in Oraibi. Three such ladders are shown in Pl. LXXXIV. A similar example may be seen in Pl. CVII, in connection with a large opening closed with rough masonry. In these cases the rungs are made to occupy slight notches or depressions in the upright poles and are then firmly lashed with rawhide, forming a fairly rigid structure. This type of ladder is probably a survival of the earliest form of the pueblo ladder.

ladder cross-pieces
ladder cross-pieces

Plate XCVIII. Cross-pieces on Zuñi ladders.

In addition to the high cross piece whose function is to retain in place the vertical poles, the kiva ladders are usually provided, both in Zuñi and Tusayan, with a cross piece consisting of a round stick tied to the uprights and placed at a uniform height above the kiva roof. This stick affords a handhold for the marked dancers who are often encumbered with ceremonial paraphernalia as they enter the kiva. In the case of the Oraibi kiva occupying the foreground of Pl. XXXVIII, it may be seen that this handhold cross piece is inserted into holes in the side poles, an exception to the general practice. In Pl. LXXXVII, illustrating kivas, the position of this feature will be seen.

outside steps
outside steps

Plate XCIX. Outside steps at Pescado.

The exceptional mode of access to Tusayan kiva hatchways by means of short nights of stone steps has already been noticed. In several instances the top steps of these short flights cover the thickness of the wall. The remains of a similar stairway were observed in Pueblo Bonito, where it evidently reached directly from the ground to an external doorway. Access by such means, however, is a departure from the original defensive idea.

stone steps
stone steps

Fig. 48. Stone steps at Oraibi, with platform at corner.

Modern practice in Zuñi has departed more widely from the primitive system than at Tusayan. In the former pueblo short nights of stone steps giving access to doors raised but a short distance above the ground are very commonly seen. Even in the small farming pueblo of Pescado two examples of this arrangement are met with. Pl. XCIX illustrates one of these found on the north outside wall. In the general views of the Tusayan villages the closer adherence to primitive methods is Pl. XXXII illustrates two flights of stone steps of Shupaulovi. In many cases the workmanship of these stone steps does not surpass that seen in the Walpi trail, illustrated in Pl. XXV.

stone steps
stone steps

Fig. 49. Stone steps, with platform at chimney, in Oraibi.

stone steps
stone steps

Fig. 50. Stone steps in Shumopavi.

48 and 49 illustrate stone steps on upper terraces in Oraibi. In both cases the steps have been added long after the rooms against which they abut were built. In order to conform to the fixed requirement of placing such means of access at the corners of the upper rooms, the builders constructed a clumsy platform to afford passage around the previously built chimney. Fig. 50 shows the result of a similar lack of foresight. The upper portion of the flight, consisting of three steps, has been abruptly turned at right angles to the main flight, and is supported upon rude poles and beams. The restriction of this feature to the corners of upper rooms where they were most likely to conflict with chimneys is undoubtedly a survival of ancient practice, and due to the necessary vertical alignment of walls and masonry in this primitive construction.

COOKING PITS AND OVENS.

Most of the cooking of the ancient Pueblos was probably done out of doors, as among the ruins vestiges of cooking pits, almost identical in

cooking pits
cooking pits

Fig. 51. A series of cooking pits in Mashongnavi.

The distribution of the dome-shaped ovens in Cibola and in Tusayan may be seen on the ground plans in Chapters III and IV. The simplest form of cooking pit, still commonly used in Tusayan, consists of a depression in the ground, lined with a coating of mud. The pit is usually of small size and is commonly placed at some little distance from the house; in a few cases it is located in a sheltered corner of the building. Fig. 51 illustrates a series of three such primitive ovens built against a house wall, in a low bench or ledge of masonry raised 6 inches above the ground; the holes measure about a foot across and are about 18 or 20 inches deep. Many similar pits occur in the Tusayan villages; some of them are walled in with upright stone slabs, whose rough edges project 6 or 8 inches above the ground, the result closely resembling the ancient form of in-door fireplace, such as that seen in a room of Kin-tiel. (Pl. C.)

Kin-tiel room
Kin-tiel room

Plate C. An excavated room at Kin-tiel.

In its perfected form the cooking pit in Tusayan takes the place of the more elaborate oven used in Zuñi. Figs. 52 and 53 show two specimens of pits used for the preparation of pi-gummi, a kind of baked mush.

pi-gummi ovens
pi-gummi ovens

Fig. 52. Pi-gummi ovens of Mashongnavi.

pi-gummi oven
pi-gummi oven
pi-gummi oven
pi-gummi oven

Fig. 53. Cross sections of pi-gummi ovens of Mashongnavi.

foundation stones of oven
foundation stones of oven
foundation stones of oven
foundation stones of oven

Fig. 54. Diagram showing foundation stones of a Zuñi oven.

No example of the dome-shaped oven of pre-Columbian origin has been found among the pueblo ruins, although its prototype probably existed in ancient times, possibly in the form of a kiln for baking a fine quality of pottery formerly manufactured. However, the cooking pit alone, developed to the point of the pi-gummi oven of Tusayan, may have been the stem upon which the foreign idea was engrafted. Instances of the complete adoption by these conservative people of a wholly foreign idea or feature of construction are not likely to be found, as improvements are almost universally confined to the mere modification of existing devices. In the few instances in which more radical changes are attempted the resulting forms bear evidence of the fact.

In Cibola the construction of a dome-shaped oven is begun by laying out roughly a circle of flat stones as a foundation. Upon these the Pl. XCVII shows near its broken doorway the arrangement of foundation stones referred to. Typical examples of the dome oven occur in the foreground of the general view of Zuñi shown in Pl. LXXVIII.

oven
oven

Fig. 55. Dome-shaped oven on a plinth of masonry.

The dome ovens of Cibola are generally smoothly plastered, inside and out, but a few examples are seen in which the stones of the masonry are exposed. In. Pl. XCIX may be seen two ovens differing in size, one of which shows the manner in which the opening is blocked up with stone to keep out stray dogs during periods of disuse. Fig. 55 illustrates a mud-plastered oven at Pescado, which is elevated about a foot above the ground on a base or plinth of masonry. The opening of this oven is on the side toward the houses. This form is quite exceptional in Cibola, though of frequent occurrence among the Rio Grande pueblos. A very large and carefully finished example was examined at Jemez.

oven
oven

Fig. 56. Oven in Pescado exposing stones of masonry.

Figs. 56 and 57 illustrate two specimens of rough masonry ovens seen at Pescado. In one of these a decided horizontal arrangement of the stones in the masonry prevails. The specimen at the right is small and rudely constructed, showing but little care in the use of the building material. The few specimens of dome ovens seen in Tusayan are characterized by the same rudeness of construction noticed in their house masonry. The rarity of this oven at Tusayan, where so many of the constructions have retained a degree of primitiveness not seen elsewhere, is perhaps an additional evidence of its foreign origin.

oven
oven

Fig. 57. Oven in Pescado exposing stones of masonry.

OVEN-SHAPED STRUCTURES.

In Tusayan, there are other structures, of rude dome-shape, likely to be mistaken for some form of cooking device. Fig. 58 illustrates two specimens of shrines that occur in courts of Mashongnavi. These are receptacles for plume sticks (bahos) and other votive offerings used at certain festivals, which, after being so used, are sealed up with stone slabs and adobe. These shrines occur at several of the villages, as noted in the discussion of the plans in Chapter III. In the foreground of Pl. XXXVIII may be seen an Oraibi specimen somewhat resembling those seen at Mashongnavi.

shrine
shrine
shrine
shrine
poultry house
poultry house

Fig. 58. Shrines in Mashongnavi. Fig. 59. A poultry house in Sichumovi resembling an oven.

Fig. 59 illustrates a very rude structure of stones in Sichumovi, resembling in form a dome oven, which is used as a poultry house. Several of these are seen in the Tusayan villages.

FIREPLACES AND CHIMNEYS.

The original fireplace of the ancient pueblo builders was probably the simple cooking pit transferred to a position within the dwelling room, and employed for the lighter cooking of the family as well as for warming

This fireplace, together with the room in which it was found, is illustrated in Pl. C and Fig. 60. It is of rectangular form, but other examples have been found which are circular. Mr. W. H. Jackson describes a fireplace in a cliff dwelling in “Echo Cave” that consisted of a circular, basin-like depression 30 inches across and 10 inches deep. Rooms furnishing evidence that fires were made in the corners against the walls are found in many cliff dwellings; the smoke escaped overhead, and the blackened walls afford no trace of a chimney or flue of any kind.

Kin-tiel room
Kin-tiel room

Fig. 60. Ground plan of an excavated room in Kin-tiel.

The pueblo chimney is undoubtedly a post-Spanish feature, and the best forms in use at the present time are probably of very recent origin, though they are still associated with fireplaces that have departed little from the aboriginal form seen at Kin-tiel and elsewhere. It is interesting to note, in this connection, that the ceremony consecrating the house is performed in Tusayan before the chimney is added, suggesting that the latter feature did not form a part of the aboriginal dwelling.

Before the invention of a chimney hood, and while the primitive fireplace occupied a central position in the floor of the room, the smoke probably escaped through the door and window openings. Later a hole in the roof provided an exit, as in the kivas of to-day, where ceremonial use has perpetuated an arrangement long since superseded in dwelling-house construction. The comfort of a dwelling room provided with this feature is sufficiently attested by the popularity of the modern kivas as a resort for the men. The idea of a rude hood or flue to facilitate the egress of the smoke would not be suggested until the fireplace was transferred from the center of a room to a corner, and in the first adoption of this device the builders would rely upon the adjacent walls for the needed support of the constructional members. Practically all of the chimneys of Tusayan are placed in corners at the present time, though the Zuñi builders have developed sufficient skill to construct a rigid hood and flue in the center of a side wall, as may be seen in the view of a Zuñi interior, Pl. LXXXVI.

Although the pueblo chimney owes its existence to foreign suggestion it has evidently reached its present form through a series of timid experiments, and the proper principles of its construction seem to have been but feebly apprehended by the native builders, particularly in Tusayan. The early form of hood, shown in Fig. 66, was made by placing a short supporting pole across the corner of a room at a sufficient distance from the floor and upon it arranging sticks to form the frame work of a contracting hood or flue. The whole construction was finally covered with a thick coating of mud. This primitive wooden construction has probably been in use for a long time, although it was modified in special cases so as to extend across the entire width of narrow rooms to accommodate “piki” stones or other cumbersome cooking devices. It embodies the principle of roof construction that must have been employed in the primitive house from which the pueblo was developed, and practically constitutes a miniature conical roof suspended over the fireplace and depending upon the walls of the room for support. On account of the careful and economical use of fuel by these people the light and inflammable material of which the chimney is constructed does not involve the danger of combustion that would be expected. The perfect feasibility of such use of wood is well illustrated in some of the old log-cabin chimneys in the Southern States, where, however, the arrangement of the pieces is horizontal, not vertical. These latter curiously exemplify also the use of a miniature section of house construction to form a conduit for the smoke, placed at a sufficient height to admit of access to the fire.

chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 61. A corner chimney hood with two supporting poles (Tusayan).

Fig. 61 illustrates a corner hood, in which the crossed ends of the supporting poles are exposed to view. The outer end of the lower pole is supported from the roof beams by a cord or rope, the latter being embedded in the mud plastering with which the hood is finished. The vertically ridged character of the surface reveals the underlying construction, in which light sticks have been used as a base for the plaster. The Tusayans say that large sunflower stalks are preferred for this purpose on account of their lightness. Figs. 63 and 64 show another Tusayan hood of the type described, and in Fig. 69 a large hood of the same general form, suspended over a piki-stone, is noticeable for the frank treatment of the suspending cords, which are clearly exposed to view for nearly their entire length.

chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 62. A curved chimney hood of Mashongnavi.

In a chimney in a Mashongnavi house, illustrated in Fig. 62, a simple, sharply curved piece of wood has been used for the lower rim of this hood, thus obtaining all the capacity of the two-poled form. The vertical sticks in this example are barely discernible through the plastering, which has been applied with more than the usual degree of care.

Fig. 63. A straight pole of unusual length is built into the walls across the corner of a room, and its insertion into the wall is much farther from the corner on one side than the other. From the longer stretch of inclosed wall protrudes a short pole that joins the principal one and serves as a support for one side of the chimney-hood. In this case the builder appears to have been too timid to venture on the bolder construction required in the perfected two-poled hood. This example probably represents a stage in the development of the higher form.

chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 63. A Mashongnavi chimney hood and walled up fireplace.

In some instances the rectangular corner hood is not suspended from the ceiling, but is supported from beneath by a stone slab or a piece of wood. Such a chimney hood seen in a house of Shupaulovi measures nearly 4 by 5 feet. The short side is supported by two stone slabs built into the wall and extending from the hood to the floor. Upon the upper stone rests one end of the wooden lintel supporting the long side, while the other end, near the corner of the room, is held in position by a light crotch of wood. Fig. 64 illustrates this hood; the plan indicating the relation of the stones and the forked stick to the corner of the room. Fig. 71, illustrating a terrace fireplace and chimney of Shumopavi, shows the employment of similar supports.

chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 64. A chimney hood of Shupaulovi.

Corner chimney hoods in Zuñi do not differ essentially from the more symmetrical of the Tusayan specimens, but they are distinguished by

The builders of Tusayan appear to have been afraid to add the necessary weight of mud mortar to produce this finished effect, the hoods usually showing a vertically ridged or crenated surface, caused by the sticks of the framework showing through the thin mud coat. Stone also is often employed in their construction, and its use has developed a large, square-headed type of chimney unknown at Tusayan. This is illustrated in Fig. 65. This form of hood, projecting some distance beyond its flue, affords space that may be used as a mantel-shelf, an advantage gained only to a very small degree by the forms discussed above. This chimney, as before stated, is built against one of the walls of a room, and near the middle.

chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 65. A semi-detached square chimney hood of Zuñi.

chimney hood
chimney hood
chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 66. Unplastered Zuñi chimney hoods, illustrating construction.

All the joints of these hoods, and even the material used, are generally concealed from view by a carefully applied coating of plaster, supplemented by a gypsum wash, and usually there is no visible evidence of the manner in which they are built, but the construction is little superior to that of the simple corner hoods. The method of framing the various types of hoods is illustrated in Fig. 66. The example on the left shows an unplastered wooden hood skeleton. The arrangement of the parts in projecting rectangular stone hoods is illustrated in the right-hand diagram of the figure. In constructing such a chimney a thin buttress is first built against the wall of sufficient width and 7 which, from the description, must have closely resembled the Zuñi chimney described above. Houses containing such devices may be quite old, but if so they were certainly reoccupied in post-Spanish times. Such dwellings are likely to have been used as places of refuge in times of danger up to a comparatively recent date.

fireplace
fireplace

Fig. 67. A fireplace and mantel in Sichumovi.

Among the many forms of chimneys and fireplaces seen in Tusayan a curious approach to our own arrangement of fireplace and mantel was noticed in a house in Sichumovi. In addition to the principal mantel ledge, a light wooden shelf was arranged against the wall on one side of the flue, one of its ends being supported by an upright piece of wood with a cap, and the other resting on a peg driven into the wall. This fireplace and mantel is illustrated in Fig. 67.

Aside from the peculiar “guyave” or “piki” baking oven, there is but little variation in the form of indoor fireplaces in Cibola, while in Tusayan it appears to have been subjected to about the same mutations Fig. 68, which illustrates a second-story fireplace in Mashongnavi. Other examples may be seen in the outdoor chimneys shown in Figs. 72 and 73.

fireplace
fireplace

Fig. 68. A second-story fireplace in Mashongnavi.

chimney hood
chimney hood

Fig. 69. Piki stone and chimney hood in Sichumovi.

When the long guyave stone is in position upon the edges of the back and front stones the fire must be so applied as to maintain the stone at a uniform temperature. This is done by frequent feeding with small bits of sage brush or other fuel. The necessity for such economy in the use of fuel has to a certain extent affected the forms of all the heating and cooking devices. Fig. 69 illustrates a Sichumovi piki stone, and Fig. 70 shows the use of the oven in connection with a cooking fireplace, a combination that is not uncommon. The latter example

Piki stone and andiron
Piki stone and andiron

Fig. 70. Piki stone and primitive andiron in Shumopavi.

terrace fireplace and chimney
terrace fireplace and chimney

Fig. 71. A terrace fireplace and chimney of Shumopavi.

Chimneys and fireplaces are often found in Tusayan in the small, recessed, balcony-like rooms of the second terrace. When a deep cooking-pit is required in such a position, it is obtained by building up the sides, as in the indoor fireplaces of upper rooms. Such a fireplace is illustrated in Fig. 71. A roofed recess which usually occurs at one end of the first terrace, called “tupubi,” takes its name from the flat piki oven, the variety of fireplace generally built in these alcoves. The transfer of the fireplace from the second-story room to the corner of such a roofed-terrace alcove was easily accomplished, and probably led to the occasional use of the cooking-pit, with protecting chimney hood on the open and unsheltered roof. Fig. 72 illustrates a deep cooking-pit on an upper

cooking pit
cooking pit

Fig. 72. A terrace cooking-pit and chimney of Walpi.

The outdoor use of the above-described fireplaces on upper terraces has apparently suggested the improvement of the ground cooking pit Fig. 73 illustrates an example that was seen on the east side of Shumopavi. It will be noticed that in the use of this arrangement on the ground—an arrangement that evidently originated on the terraces—the builders have reverted to the earlier form of excavated pit. In other respects the example illustrated is not distinguishable from the terrace forms above described.

cooking pit
cooking pit

Fig. 73. A ground cooking-pit of Shumopavi covered with a chimney.

In the discussion of the details of kiva arrangement in Tusayan (p. 121) it was shown that the chimney is not used in any form in these ceremonial chambers; but the simple roof-opening forming the hatchway serves as a smoke vent, without the addition of either an internal hood or an external shaft. In the Zuñi kivas the smoke also finds vent through the opening that gives access to the chamber, but in the framing of the roof, as is shown elsewhere, some distinction between door and chimney is observed. The roof-hole is made double, one portion accommodating the ingress ladder and the other intended to serve for the egress of the smoke.

The external chimney of the pueblos is a simple structure, and exhibits but few variations from the type. The original form was undoubtedly a mere hole in the roof; its use is perpetuated in the kivas. This primitive form was gradually improved by raising its sides above the roof, forming a rudimentary shaft. The earlier forms are likely to have been rectangular, the round following and developing later short masonry shafts which were finally given height by the addition of chimney pots. In Zuñi the chimney has occasionally developed into a rather tall shaft, projecting sometimes to a height of 4 or 5 feet above the roof. This is particularly noticeable on the lower terraces of Zuñi, the chimneys of III and IV.

chimney
chimney
chimney
chimney

Fig. 74. Tusayan chimneys.

In Tusayan many of the chimneys are quite low, a single pot surmounting a masonry substructure not more than 6 inches high being quite common. As a rule, however, the builders preferred to use a series of pots. Two typical Tusayan chimneys are illustrated in Fig. 74. Most of the substructures for chimneys in this province are rudely rectangular in form, and clearly expose the rough stonework of the masonry, while in Zuñi the use of adobe generally obliterates all traces of construction. In both provinces chimneys are seen without the chimney pot. These usually occur in clusters, simply because the builder of a room or group of rooms preferred that form of chimney. Pl. CI illustrates a portion of the upper terraces of Zuñi where a number of masonry chimneys are grouped together. Those on the highest roof are principally of the rectangular form, being probably a direct development from the square roof hole. The latter is still sometimes seen with a rim rising several inches above the roof surface and formed of slabs set on edge or of ordinary masonry. These upper chimneys are often closed or covered with thin slabs of sandstone laid over them in the same manner as the roof holes that they resemble. The fireplaces to which some of them belong appear to be used for heating the rooms rather than for cooking, as they are often disused for long periods during the summer season.

chimneys
chimneys

Plate CI. Masonry chimneys of Zuñi.

Pl. CI also illustrates chimneys in which pots have been used in connection with masonry bases, and also a round masonry chimney. The latter is immediately behind the single pot chimney seen in the foreground. On the extreme left of the figure is shown a chimney into which fire pots have been incorporated, the lower ones being almost concealed from view by the coating of adobe. A similar effect may be seen in the small chimney on the highest roof shown in Pl. LVIII. Pl. LXXXII shows various methods of using the chimney pots. In one case the chimney is capped with a reversed large-mouthed jar, the broken bottom serving as an outlet for the smoke. The vessel usually employed for this purpose is an ordinary black cooking pot, the bottom being burned out, or otherwise rendered unfit for household use. Other vessels are occasionally used. Pl. LXXXIII shows the use, as the crowning member of the chimney, of an ordinary water jar, with dark decorations on a white ground. A vessel very badly broken is often made to serve in chimney building by skillful use of mud and mortar. To facilitate smoke exit the upper pot is made to overlap the neck of the one below by breaking out the bottom sufficiently. The joining is not often visible, as it is usually coated with adobe. The lower pots of a series are in many cases entirely embedded in the adobe.

The pueblo builder has never been able to construct a detached chimney a full story in height, either with or without the aid of chimney pots; where it is necessary to build such shafts to obtain the proper draft he is compelled to rely on the support of adjoining walls, and usually seeks a corner. Pl. CI shows a chimney of this kind that has been built of masonry to the full height of a story. A similar example is shown in the foreground of Pl. LXXVIII. In Pl. XXII may be seen a chimney of the full height of the adjoining story, but in this instance it is constructed wholly of pots. Pl. LXXXV illustrates a similar case indoors.

The external chimney probably developed gradually from the simple roof opening, as previously noted. The raised combing about trapdoors or roof holes afforded the first suggestion in this direction. From this developed the square chimney, and finally the tall round shaft, crowned with a series of pots. The whole chimney, both internal and external, excluding only the primitive fireplace, is probably of comparatively recent origin, and based on the foreign (Spanish) suggestion.

GATEWAYS AND COVERED PASSAGES.

Gateways, arranged for defense, occur in many of the more compactly-built ancient pueblos. Some of the passageways in the modern villages of Tusayan and Cibola resemble these older examples, but most of the narrow passages, giving access to the inner courts of the inhabited villages, are not the result of the defensive idea, but are formed by the crowding together of the dwellings. They occur, as a rule, within the pueblo and not upon its periphery. Many of the terraces now face outward and are reached from the outside of the pueblo, being in marked contrast to the early arrangement, in which narrow passages to inclose Pl. CII.

gateway
gateway

Plate CII. Remains of a gateway in Awatubi.

Other examples of this feature may be seen in the ground plans of Tebugkihu, Chukubi, and Payupki (Fig. 7, and Pls. XII and XIII).

In the first of these the deep jambs of the opening are clearly defined, but in the other two only low mounds of débris suggest the gateway. In the ancient Cibolan pueblos, including those on the mesa of Tâaaiyalana, no remains of external gateways have been found; the plans suggest that the disposition of the various clusters approximated somewhat the irregular arrangement of the present day. There are only occasional traces, as of a continuous defensive outer wall, such as those seen at Nutria and Pescado. In the pueblos of the Cibola group, ancient and modern, access to the inner portion of the pueblo was usually afforded at a number of points. In the pueblo of Kin-tiel, however, occurs an excellent example of the defensive gateway. The jambs and corners of the opening are finished with great neatness, as may be seen in the illustration (Pl. CIII). This gateway or passage was roofed over, and the rectangular depressions for the reception of cross-beams still contain short stumps, protected from destruction by the masonry. The masonry over the passageway in falling carried away part of the masonry above the jamb corner, thus indicating continuity of bond. The ground plan of this ruin (Pl. LXIII) indicates clearly the various points at which access to the inner courts was obtained. On the east side a noticeable feature is the overlapping of the boundary wall of the south wing, forming an indirect entranceway. The remains do not indicate that this passage, like the one just described, was roofed over. In some cases the modern passageways, as they follow the jogs and angles of adjoining rows of houses, display similar changes of direction. In Shupaulovi, which preserves most distinctly in its plan the idea of the inclosed court, the passageway at the south end of the village changes its direction at a right angle before emerging into the court (Pl. XXX). This arrangement was undoubtedly determined by the position of the terraces long before the passageway was roofed over and built upon. Pl. XXII shows the south passageway of Walpi; the entrances are made narrower than the rest of the passage by building buttresses of masonry at the sides. This was probably done to secure the necessary support for the north and south walls of the upper story. One of the walls, as maybe seen in the illustration, rests directly upon a cross beam, strengthened in this manner.

gateway
gateway

Plate CIII. Ancient gateway, Kin-tiel.

Pl. LXXXII, is reached by means of two covered passages, bearing some general resemblance to the ancient defensive entrances, but these houses, reached from within the court, have also terraces without. The low passage shown in the figure has gradually been surmounted by rooms, reaching in some cases a height of three terraces above the openings; but the accumulated weight finally proved too much for the beams and sustaining walls—probably never intended by the builders to withstand the severe test afterwards put upon them—and following an unusually protracted period of wet weather, the entire section of rooms above fell to the ground. This occurred since the surveying and photographing. It is rather remarkable that the frail adobe walls withstood so long the unusual strain, or even that they sustained the addition of a top story at all.

In the preceding examples the passageway was covered throughout its length by rooms, but cases occur in both Tusayan and Cibola in which only portions of the roof form the floor of superstructures. Pl. CIV shows a passage roofed over beyond the two-story portion of the building for a sufficient distance to form a small terrace, upon which a ladder stands. Pl. XXIII illustrates a similar arrangement on the west side of Walpi. The outer edges of these terraces are covered with coping stones and treated in the same manner as outer walls of lower rooms. In Zuñi an example of this form of passage roof occurs between two of the eastern house rows, where the rooms have not been subjected to the close crowding characteristic of the western clusters of the pueblo.

passageway
passageway

Plate CIV. A covered passageway in Mashongnavi.

DOORS.

In Zuñi many rooms of the ground story, which in early times must have been used largely for storage, have been converted into well-lighted, habitable apartments by the addition of external doors. In Tusayan this modification has not taken place to an equal extent, the distinctly defensive character of the first terrace reached by removable ladders being still preserved. In this province a doorway on the ground is always provided in building a house, but originally this space was not designed to be permanent; it was left merely for convenience of passing in and out during the construction, and was built up before the walls were completed. Of late years, however, such doorways are often preserved, and additional small openings are constructed for windows.

In ancient times the larger doorways of the upper terraces were probably never closed, except by means of blankets or rabbit-skin robes hung over them in cold weather. Examples have been seen that seem to have been constructed with this object in view, for a slight pole, of the same kind as those used in the lintels, is built into the masonry of the jambs a few inches below the lintel proper. Openings imperfectly closed against the cold and wind were naturally placed in the lee walls to avoid the prevailing southwest winds, and the ground plans of the exposed mesa villages were undoubtedly influenced by this circumstance, II.

Doorways closed with masonry are seen in many ruins. Possibly these are an indication of the temporary absence of the owner, as in the harvest season, or at the time of the destruction or abandonment of the village; but they may have been closed for the purpose of economizing warmth and fuel during the winter season. No provision was made for closing them with movable doors. The practice of fastening up the doors during the harvesting season prevails at the present time among the Zuñi, but the result is attained without great difficulty by means of rude cross bars, now that they have framed wooden doors. One of these is illustrated in Fig. 75. These doors are usually opened by a latch-string, which, when not hung outside, is reached by means of a small round hole through the wall at the side of the door. Through this hole the owner of the house, on leaving it, secures the door by props and braces on the inside of the room, the hole being sealed up and plastered in the same manner that other openings are treated.

barred door
barred door

Fig. 75. A barred Zuñi door.

This curious arrangement affords another illustration of the survival of ancient methods in modified forms. It is not employed, however, in closing the doors of the first terrace; these are fastened by barring from the inside, the exit being made by means of internal ladders to the terrace above, the upper doors only being fastened in the manner illustrated. In Pl. LXXIX may be seen good examples of the side hole. Fig. 75 shows a barred door. The plastering or sealing of the small side

The pueblo type of paneled door is much more frequently seen in Cibola than in Tusayan, and in the latter province it does not assume the variety of treatment seen in Zuñi, nor is the work so neatly executed. The views of the modern pueblos, given in Chapters III and IV, will indicate the extent to which this feature occurs in the two groups. In the construction of a paneled door the vertical stile on one side is prolonged at the top and bottom into a rounded pivot, which works into cup-like sockets in the lintel and sill, as illustrated in Fig. 76. The hinge is thus produced in the wood itself without the aid of any external appliances.

pivot hinges
pivot hinges

Fig. 76. Wooden pivot hinges of a Zuñi door.

It is difficult to trace the origin of this device among the pueblos. It closely resembles the pivot hinges sometimes used in mediæval Europe in connection with massive gates for closing masonry passages; in such cases the prolonged pivots worked in cavities of stone sills and lintels. The Indians claim to have employed it in very early times, but no evidence on this point has been found. It is quite possible that the idea was borrowed from some of the earlier Mormon settlers who came into the country, as these people use a number of primitive devices which are undoubtedly survivals of methods of construction once common in the countries from which they came. Vestiges of the use of a pivotal hinge, constructed on a much more massive scale than any of the pueblo examples, were seen at an old fortress-like, stone storehouse of the Mormons, built near the site of Moen-kopi by the first Mormon settlers.

The paneled door now in use among the pueblos is rudely made, and consists of a frame inclosing a single panel. This panel, when of large size, is occasionally made of two or more pieces. These doors vary greatly in size. A few reach the height of 5 feet, but the usual height

Pl. XLI shows a small paneled door, not more than a foot square, used as a blind to close a back window of a dwelling. The smallest examples of paneled doors are those employed for closing the small, square openings

Carefully worked paneled doors are much more common in Zuñi than in Tusayan, and within the latter province the villages of the first mesa make more extended use of this type of door, as they have come into more intimate contact with their eastern brethren than other villages of the group. Fig. 77 illustrates a portion of a Hano house in which two wooden doors occur. These specimens indicate the rudeness of Tusayan workmanship. It will be seen that the workman who framed the upper one of these doors met with considerable difficulty in properly joining the two boards of the panel and in connecting these with the frame. The figure shows that at several points the door has been reenforced and strengthened by buckskin and rawhide thongs. The same device has been employed in the lower door, both in fastening together the two pieces of the panel and in attaching the latter to the framing. These doors also illustrate the customary manner of barring the door during the absence of the occupant of the house.

wooden doors
wooden doors

Fig. 77. Paneled wooden doors in Hano.

The doorway is usually framed at the time the house is built. The sill is generally elevated above the ground outside and the floor inside, and the door openings, with a few exceptions, are thus practically only large windows. In this respect they follow the arrangement characteristic of the ancient pueblos, in which all the larger openings are window-like doorways. These are sometimes seen on the court margin of house rows, and frequently occur between communicating rooms within the cluster. They are usually raised about a foot and a half above the floor, and in some cases are provided with one or two steps. In Zuñi, doorways between communicating rooms, though now framed in wood, preserve the same arrangement, as may be seen in Pl. LXXXVI.

The side pieces of a paneled pueblo door are mortised, an achievement far beyond the aboriginal art of these people. Fig. 78 illustrates the manner in which the framing is done. All the necessary grooving, and the preparation of the projecting tenons is laboriously executed with the most primitive tools, in many cases the whole frame, with all its joints, being cut out with a small knife.

framing of door-panel
framing of door-panel
framing of door-panel
framing of door-panel

Fig. 78. Framing of a Zuñi door-panel.

Doors are usually fastened by a simple wooden latch, the bar of which turns upon a wooden pin. They are opened from without by lifting the

Many doors having no permanent means of closure are still in use. These are very common in Tusayan, and occur also in Cibola, particularly in the farming pueblos. The open front of the “tupubi” or balcony-like recess, seen so frequently at the ends of first-terrace roofs in Tusayan, is often constructed with a transom-like arrangement in connection with the girder supporting the edge of the roof, in the same manner in which doorways proper are treated. Pl. XXXII illustrates a balcony in which one bounding side is formed by a flight of stone steps, producing a notched or terraced effect. The supporting girder in this instance is embedded in the wall and coated over with adobe, obscuring the construction. Fig. 79 shows a rude transom over the supporting beam of a balcony roof in the principal house of Hano. The upper doorway shown in this house has been partly walled in, reducing its size somewhat. It is also provided with a small horizontal opening over the main lintel, which, like the doorway, has been partly filled with masonry. This upper transom often seems to have resulted from carrying such openings to the full height of the story. The transom probably originated from the spaces left between the ends of beams resting on the main girder that spanned the principal opening (see Fig. 81). Somewhat similar balconies are seen in Cibola, both in Zuñi and in the farming villages, but they do not assume so much importance as in Tusayan. An example is shown in Pl. CI, in which the construction of this feature is clearly visible.

transoms
transoms

Fig. 79. Rude transoms over Tusayan openings.

In the remains of the ancient pueblos there is no evidence of the use of the half-open terrace rooms described above. If such rooms existed, especially if constructed in the open manner of the Tusayan examples, they must have been among the first to succumb to destruction. The comparative rarity of this feature in Zuñi does not necessarily indicate that it is not of native origin, as owing to the exceptional manner of clustering and to prolonged exposure to foreign influence, this pueblo exhibits a wider departure from the ancient type than do any of the Tusayan villages. It is likely that the ancient builders, trusting to the double protection of the inclosed court and the defensive first terrace,

doorway with transoms
doorway with transoms
doorway with transoms
doorway with transoms

Fig. 80. A large Tusayan doorway with small transom openings.

The transom-like opening commonly accompanying the large opening is also seen in many of the inclosed doorways of Tusayan, but in some of these cases its origin can not be traced to the roof constructions, as the openings do not approach the ceilings of the rooms. In early days such doorways were closed by means of large slabs of stone set on edge, and these were sometimes supplemented by a suspended blanket. In severe winter weather many of the openings were closed with masonry. At the present time many doorways not provided with paneled doors Fig. 80 illustrates a large doorway of Tusayan with a small transom. The opening was being reduced in size by means of adobe masonry at the time the drawing was made. Fig. 81 shows a double transom over a lintel composed of two poles; a section of masonry separating the transom into two distinct openings rests upon the lintel of the doorway and supports a roof-beam; this is shown in the figure. Other examples of transoms may be seen in connection with many of the illustrations of Tusayan doorways.

doorway and transom
doorway and transom

Fig. 81. A doorway and double transom in Walpi.

The transom bars over exterior doorways of houses probably bear some relation to a feature seen in some of the best preserved ruins and still surviving to some extent in Tusayan practice. This consists of a straight pole, usually of the same dimensions as the poles of which the lintel is made, extending across the opening from 2 to 6 inches below the main lintel, and fixed into the masonry in a position to serve as a curtain pole. Originally this pole undoubtedly served as a means of suspension for the blanket or skin rug used in closing the opening, just as such means are now used in the huts of the Navajo, as well as

doorway
doorway

Fig. 82. An ancient doorway in Canyon de Chelly cliff ruin.

notched doorway
notched doorway

Fig. 83. A symmetrically notched doorway in Mashongnavi.

A most striking feature of doorways is the occasional departure from the quadrangular form, seen in some ruined villages and also in some of the modern houses of Tusayan. Fig. 82 illustrates a specimen of this type found in a small cliff ruin, in Canyon de Chelly. Ancient examples of this form of opening are distinguished by a symmetrical disposition of the step in the jamb, while the modern doors are seldom so arranged. A modern example from Mashongnavi is shown in Fig. 83. This opening also illustrates the double or divided transom. The beam ends shown in the figure project beyond the face of the wall and support an overhanging coping or cornice. A door-like window, approximating the symmetrical form described, is seen immediately over the passage-way shown in Pl. XXII. This form is evidently the result of the partial closing of a larger rectangular opening.

Fig. 84 shows the usual type of terraced doorway in Tusayan, in which one jamb is stepped at a considerably greater height than the other. In Tusayan large openings occur in which only one jamb is stepped, producing an effect somewhat of that of the large balcony openings with flights of stone steps at one side, previously illustrated. An opening of this form is shown in Fig. 85. Both of the stepped doorways,

notched doorway
notched doorway

Fig. 84. A Tusayan notched doorway.

doorway with notched jamb
doorway with notched jamb
doorway with notched jamb
doorway with notched jamb
doorway with notched jamb
doorway with notched jamb

Fig. 85. A large Tusayan doorway with one notched jamb.

One more characteristic type of the ancient pueblo doorway remains to be described. During the autumn of 1883, when the ruined pueblo of Kin-tiel was surveyed, a number of excavations were made in and about the pueblo. A small room on the east side, near the brink of the arroyo that traverses the ruin from east to west, was completely cleared out, exposing its fireplace, the stone paving of its floor, and other details of construction. Built into an inner partition of this room was found a large slab of stone, pierced with a circular hole of sufficient size for a man to squeeze through. This slab was set on edge and incorporated into the masonry of the partition, and evidently served as a means of communication with another room. The position of this doorway and its relation to the room in which it occurs may be seen from the illustration in Pl. C, which shows the stone in situ. The doorway or “stone-close” is shown in Fig. 86 on a sufficient scale to indicate the degree of technical skill in the architectural treatment of stone possessed by the builders of this old pueblo. The writer visited Zuñi in October of the same season, and on describing this find to Mr. Frank H. Cushing, learned that the Zuñi Indians still preserved traditional knowledge of this device. Mr. Cushing kindly furnished at the

circular doorway
circular doorway

Fig. 86. An ancient circular doorway or “stone-close” in Kin-tiel.

“‘How will they enter?’ said the young man to his wife. ‘Through the stone-close at the side,’ she answered. In the days of the ancients, the doorways were often made of a great slab of stone with a round hole cut through the middle, and a round stone slab to close it, which was called the stone-close, that the enemy might not enter in times of war.”

Mr. Cushing had found displaced fragments of such circular stone doorways at ruins some distance northwest from Zuñi, but had been under the impression that they were used as roof openings. All examples of this device known to the writer as having been found in place occurred in side walls of rooms. Mr. E. W. Nelson, while making collections of pottery from ruins near Springerville, Arizona, found and sent to the Smithsonian Institution, in the autumn of 1884, “a flat stone about 18 inches square with a round hole cut in the middle of it. This stone was taken from the wall of one of the old ruined stone houses near Springerville, in an Indian ruin. The stone was set in the wall between two inner rooms of the ruin, and evidently served as a means of communication or perhaps a ventilator. I send it on mainly as an example of their stone-working craft.” The position of this feature in the excavated room of Kin-tiel is indicated on the ground plan, Fig. 60, which also shows the position of other details seen in the general view of the room, Pl. C.

A small fragment of a “stone-close” doorway was found incorporated into the masonry of a flight of outside stone steps at Pescado, indicating its use in some neighboring ruin, thus bringing it well within the Cibola district. Another point at which similar remains have been brought to light is the pueblo of Halona, just across the river from the present Zuñi. Mr. F. Webb Hodge, recently connected with the Hemenway Southwestern Archeological Exposition, under the direction of Mr. F. H. Cushing, describes this form of opening as being of quite common occurrence in the rooms of this long-buried pueblo. Here the doorways are associated with the round slabs used for closing them. The latter were held in place by props within the room. No slabs of this form were seen at Kin-tiel, but quite possibly some of the large slabs of nearly rectangular form, found within this ruin, may have served the same purpose. It would seem more reasonable to use the rectangular

The annular doorway described above affords the only instance known to the writer where access openings were closed with a rigid device of aboriginal invention; and from the character of its material this device was necessarily restricted to openings of small size. The larger rectangular doorways, when not partly closed by masonry, probably were covered only with blankets or skin rugs suspended from the lintel. In the discussion of sealed windows modern examples resembling the stone-close device will be noted, but these are usually employed in a more permanent manner.

The small size of the ordinary pueblo doorway was perhaps due as much to the fact that there was no convenient means of closing it as it was to defensive reasons. Many primitive habitations, even quite rude ones built with no intention of defense, are characterized by small doors and windows. The planning of dwellings and the distribution of openings in such a manner as to protect and render comfortable the inhabited rooms implies a greater advance in architectural skill than these builders had achieved.

The inconveniently small size of the doorways of the modern pueblos is only a survival of ancient conditions. The use of full-sized doors, admitting a man without stooping, is entirely practicable at the present day, but the conservative builders persist in adhering to the early type. The ancient position of the door, with its sill at a considerable height from the ground, is also retained. From the absence of any convenient means of rigidly closing the doors and windows, in early times external openings were restricted to the smallest practicable dimensions. The convenience of these openings was increased without altering their dimensions by elevating them to a certain height above the ground. In the ruin of Kin-tiel there is marked uniformity in the height of the openings above the ground, and such openings were likely to be quite uniform when used for similar purposes. The most common elevation of the sills of doorways was such that a man could readily step over at one stride. It will be seen that the same economy of space has effected the use of windows in this system of architecture.

WINDOWS.

In the pueblo system of building, doors and windows are not always clearly differentiated. Many of the openings, while used for access to the dwellings, also answer all the purposes of windows, and, both in their form and in their position in the walls, seem more fully to meet the requirements of openings for the admission of light and air than for access. We have seen in the illustrations in Chapters III and IV, openings of considerable size so located in the face of the outer wall as to unfit them for use as doorways, and others whose size is wholly inadequate, but which are still provided with the typical though diminutive

In the most common form of window in present use in Tusayan and Cibola the width usually exceeds the height. Although found often in what appear to be the older portions of the present pueblos, this shape probably does not date very far back. The windows of the ancient pueblos were sometimes square, or nearly so, when of small size, but when larger they were never distinguishable from doorways in either size or finish, and the height exceeded the width. This restriction of the width of openings was due to the exceptionally small size of the building stone made use of. Although larger stones were available, the builders had not sufficient constructive skill to successfully utilize them. The failure to utilize this material indicates a degree of ignorance of mechanical aids that at first thought seems scarcely in keeping with the massiveness of form and the high degree of finish characterizing many of the remains; but as already seen in the discussion of masonry, the latter results were attained by the patient industry of many hands, although laboring with but little of the spirit of cooperation. The narrowness of the largest doors and windows in the ancient pueblos suggests timidity on the part of the ancient builders. The apparently bolder construction of the present day, shown in the prevailing use of horizontal openings, is not due to greater constructive skill, but rather to the markedly greater carelessness of modern construction.

The same contrast between modern and ancient practice is seen in the disposition of openings in walls. In the modern pueblos there does not seem to be any regularity or system in their introduction, while in some of the older pueblos, such as Pueblo Bonito on the Chaco, and others of the same group, the arrangement of the outer openings exhibits a certain degree of symmetry. The accompanying diagram, Fig. 87, illustrates a portion of the northern outer wall of Pueblo Bonito, in which the small windows of successive rooms, besides being uniform in size, are grouped in pairs. The degree of technical skill shown in the execution of the masonry about these openings is in keeping with the precision with which the openings themselves are placed. Pl. CV, gives a view of a portion of the wall containing these openings.

small openings
small openings

Plate CV. Small square openings in Pueblo Bonito.

arrangement of openings
arrangement of openings

Fig. 87. Diagram illustrating symmetrical arrangement of small openings in Pueblo Bonito.

LXXIX and LXXXII of Zuñi perhaps represent it most clearly.

The framing of these openings differs but little from that of the ancient examples. The modern opening is distinguished principally by the more careless method of combining the materials, and by the introduction in many instances of a rude sash. A number of small poles or sticks, usually of cedar, with the bark peeled off, are laid side by side in contact, across the opening, to form a support for the stones and earth of the superposed masonry. Frequently a particularly large tablet of stone is placed immediately upon the sticks, but this stone is never long enough or thick enough to answer the purpose of a lintel for larger openings. The number of small sticks used is sufficient to reach from the face to the back of the wall, and in the simplest openings the surrounding masonry forms jambs and sill. American or Spanish influence occasionally shows itself in the employment of sawed boards for lintels, sills, and jambs. The wooden features of the windows exhibit a curiously light and flimsy construction.

A large percentage of the windows, in both Tusayan and Cibola, are furnished with glass at the present time. Occasionally a primitive sash of several lights is found, but frequently the glass is used singly; in some instances it is set directly into the adobe without any intervening sash or frame. In several cases in Zuñi the primitive sash or frame has been rudely decorated with incised lines and notches. An example of this is shown in Fig. 88. The frame or sash is usually built solidly into the wall. Hinged sashes do not seem to have been adopted as yet. Often the introduction of lights shows a curious and awkward compromise between aboriginal methods and foreign ideas.

window decoration
window decoration
window decoration
window decoration

Fig. 88. Incised decoration on a rude window sash in Zuñi.

Characteristic of Zuñi windows, and also of those of the neighboring pueblo of Acoma, is the use of semitranslucent slabs of selenite, about 1 inch in thickness and of irregular form. Pieces are occasionally met with about 18 inches long and 8 or 10 inches Fig. 89. Similar glazing is also employed in the related, obliquely pierced openings of Zuñi, to be described later.

sloping window
sloping window
sloping window
sloping window

Fig. 89. Sloping selenite window at base of Zuñi wall on upper terrace.

Selenite, in all probability, was not used in pre-Spanish times. No examples have as yet been met with among ruins in the region where this material is found and now used. Throughout the south and east portion of the ancient pueblo region, explored by Mr. A. F. Bandelier, where many of the remains were in a very good state of preservation, no cases of the use of this substance were seen. Fig. 90 illustrates a typical selenite window.

glazed window
glazed window

Fig. 90. A Zuñi window glazed with selenite.

In Zuñi some of the kivas are provided with small external windows framed with slabs of stone. It is likely that the kivas would for a long time perpetuate methods and practices that had been superseded in the construction of dwellings. The use of stone jambs, however, would necessarily be limited to openings of small size, as such use for large openings was beyond the mechanical skill of the pueblo builders.

Fig. 91 illustrates the manner of making small openings in external exposed walls in Zuñi. Stone frames occur only occasionally in what seem to be the older and least modified portions of the village. At Tusayan, however, this method of framing windows is much more noticeable, as the exceptional crowding that has exercised such an influence on Zuñi construction has not occurred there. The Tusayan houses are arranged more in rows, often with a suggestion of large inclosures resembling the courts of the ancient pueblos. The inclosures have not been encroached upon, the streets are wider, and altogether the earlier methods seem to have been retained in greater purity than in Zuñi. The unbroken outer wall, of two or three stories in height, like the same feature of the old villages, is pierced at various heights with small openings that do not seriously impair its efficiency for defense. Tusayan examples of these loop-hole-like openings maybe seen in Pls. XXII, XXIII, and XXXIX.

openings in wall
openings in wall

Fig. 91. Small openings in the back wall of a Zuñi house-cluster.

In some of the ancient pueblos such openings were arranged on a distinctly defensive plan, and were constructed with great care. Openings of this type, not more than 4 inches square, pierced the second story outer wall of the pueblo of Wejegi in the Chaco Canyon. In the pueblo of Kin-tiel (Pl. LXIII) similar loop-hole-like openings were very skillfully constructed in the outer wall at the rounded northeastern corner of the pueblo. The openings pierced the wall at an oblique angle, as shown on the plan. Two of these channel-like loopholes maybe seen in Pl. LXV. This figure also shows the carefully executed jamb corners and faces of three large openings of the second story, which, though greatly undermined by the falling away of the lower masonry, are still held in position by the bond of thin flat stones of which the wall is built.

sealed openings
sealed openings

Plate CVI. Sealed openings in a detached house of Nutria.

It is often the practice in the modern pueblos to seal up the windows of a house with masonry, and sometimes the doors also during the temporary absence of the occupant, which absence often takes place at the seasons of planting and harvesting. At such times many Zuñi families occupy outlying farming pueblos, such as Nutria and Pescado, and the Fig. 92 illustrates specimens of sealed openings in the village of Hano of the Tusayan group. The upper window is closed with a single large slab and a few small chinking stones at one side. The masonry used in closing the lower opening is scarcely distinguishable from that of the adjoining walls. Pl. CVI illustrates a similar treatment of an opening in a detached house of Nutria, whose occupants had returned to the home pueblo of Zuñi at the close of the harvesting season. The doorway in this case is only partly closed, leaving a window-like aperture at

sealed openings
sealed openings

Fig. 92. Sealed openings in Tusayan.

Windows and doors closed with masonry are often met with in the remains of ancient pueblos, suggesting, perhaps, that some of the occupants were absent at the time of the destruction of the village. When large door-like openings in upper external walls were built up and plastered over in this way, as in some ruins, the purpose was to economize heat during the winter, as blankets or rugs made of skins would be inadequate.

opening converted to doorway
opening converted to doorway

Plate CVII. Partial filling-in of a large opening in Oraibi, converting it into a doorway.

Besides the closing and reopening of doors and windows just described, the modern pueblo builders frequently make permanent changes in such openings. Doors are often converted into windows, and windows are reduced in size or enlarged, or new ones are broken through the walls, apparently, with the greatest freedom, so that they do not, from their finish or method of construction, furnish any clue to the antiquity of the mud-covered wall in which they are found. Occasionally surface weathering of the walls, particularly in Zuñi, exposes a bit of horizontal pole embedded in the masonry, the lintel of a window long since sealed up and obliterated by successive coats of mud finish. It is probable that many openings are so covered up as to leave no trace of their existence on the external wall. In Zuñi particularly, where the original arrangement for entering and lighting many of the rooms must have been wholly lost in the dense clustering of later times, such changes are very numerous. It often happens that the addition of a new room will shut off one or more old windows, and in such cases the latter are often converted into interior niches which serve as open cupboards. Such niches were sometimes of considerable size in the older pueblos. Changes in the character of openings are quite common in all of the pueblos. Usually the evidences of such changes are much clearer in the rougher and more exposed work of Tusayan than in the adobe-finished houses of Zuñi. Pl. CVII illustrates a large, balcony-like opening in Oraibi that has been reduced to the size of an ordinary door by filling in with rough masonry. A small window has been left immediately over the lintel of the newer door. Pl. CVIII illustrates two large openings in this village that have been treated in a somewhat similar manner, but the filling has been carried farther. Both of these openings have been used as doorways at one stage of their reduction, the one on the right having been provided with a small transom; the combined opening was arranged wholly within the large one and under its transom. In the further conversion of this doorway into a small window, the secondary transom was blocked up with stone slabs, set on edge, and a small loophole window in the upper lefthand corner of the large opening was also closed. The masonry filling of the large opening on the left in this illustration shows no trace of a transom over the smaller doorway. A small loophole in the corner of this large opening is still left open. It will be noted that the original transoms of the large openings have in all these cases been entirely filled up with masonry.

openings converted to windows
openings converted to windows

Plate CVIII. Large openings reduced to small windows, Oraibi.

The clearness with which all the steps of the gradual reduction of these openings can be traced in the exposed stone work is in marked contrast with the obscurity of such features in Zuñi. In the latter group, however, examples are occasionally seen where a doorway has been partly closed with masonry, leaving enough space at the top for a window. Often in such cases the filled-in masonry is thinner than that of the adjoining wall, and consequently the form of the original doorway is easily traced. Fig. 93, from an adobe wall in Zuñi, gives an illustration of this. The entrance doorway of the detached Zuñi house illustrated in Pl. LXXXIII, has been similarly reduced in size, leaving traces of the original form in a slight offset. In modern times, both in Tusayan and Cibola, changes in the form and disposition of openings seem to have been made with the greatest freedom, but in the ancient pueblos altered doors or windows have rarely been found. The original placing of these features was more carefully considered, and the buildings were rarely subjected to unforeseen and irregular crowding.

doorway converted to window
doorway converted to window

Fig. 93. A Zuñi doorway converted into a window.

In both ancient and modern pueblo work, windows, used only as such, seem to have been universally quadrilateral, offsets and steps being confined exclusively to doorways.

ROOF OPENINGS.

The line of separation between roof openings and doors and windows is, with few exceptions, sharply drawn. The origin of these roof-holes, whose use at the present time is widespread, was undoubtedly in the simple trap door which gave access to the rooms of the first terrace. Pl. XXXVIII, illustrating a court of Oraibi, shows in the foreground a kiva hatchway of the usual form seen in Tusayan. Here there is but little difference between the entrance traps of the ceremonial chambers and those that give access to the rooms of the first terrace; the former are in most cases somewhat larger to admit of ingress of costumed dancers, Chapters II and III will show the general distribution of roof openings. Those used as hatchways are distinguishable by their greater dimensions, and in many cases by the presence of the ladders that give access to the rooms below. The smaller roof openings in their simplest form are constructed in essentially the same manner as the trap doors, and the width is usually regulated by the distance between two adjacent roof beams. The second series of small roof poles is interrupted at the sides of the opening, which sides are finished by means of carefully laid small stones in the same manner as are projecting copings. This finish is often carried several inches above the roof and crowned with narrow stone slabs, one on each of the four sides, forming a sort of frame which protects the mud plastered sides of the opening from the action of the rains. Examples of this simple type may be seen in many of the figures illustrating Chapters II and III, and in Pl. XCVII. Fig. 94 also illustrates common types of roof openings seen in Zuñi. Two of the examples in this figure are Fig. 95 illustrates an example of this form.

roof openings
roof openings

Fig. 94. Zuñi roof-openings.

In Zuñi, where many minor variations in the forms of roof openings occur, certain of these variations appear to be related to roof drainage. These have three sides crowned in the usual manner with coping stones laid flat, but the fourth side is formed by setting a thin slab on edge, as illustrated in Fig. 96.

roof opening
roof opening

Fig. 95. A Zuñi roof opening, with raised coping.

Fig. 94 also embodies two specimens of this form.

Fig. 97.

roof openings
roof openings

Fig. 96. Zuñi roof-openings, with one elevated end.

When the cover is placed on one of these holes, with a high slab at one end, it has a steep pitch, to shed water, and at the same time light and air are to some extent admitted, but it is very doubtful if this is the result of direct intention on the part of the builder. The possible development of this roof trap of unusual elevation into a rudimentary chimney has already been mentioned in the discussion of chimneys. A development in this direction would possibly be suggested by the desirability of separating the access by ladder from the inconvenient smoke hole. This must have been brought very forcibly to the attention of the Indian when, at the time a fire was burning in the fireplace, they were compelled to descend the ladder amidst the smoke and heat.

roof hole
roof hole

Fig. 97. A Zuñi roof hole with cover.

The survival to the present time of such an inconvenient arrangement in the kivas can be explained only on the ground of the intense conservatism of these people in all that pertains to religion. In the small roof holes methods of construction are seen which would not be so practicable on the larger scale of the ladder holes after which they have been modeled. In these latter the sides are built up of masonry or adobe, but the framing around them is more like the usual coping over walls. The stone that, set on edge in the small openings built for the admission of light, forms a raised end never occurs in these. The ladder for access rests against the coping.

When occurring in connection with kivas, ladder holes have certain peculiarities in which they differ from the ordinary form used in dwellings. The opening in such cases is made of large size to admit dancers in costume with full paraphernalia. These, the largest roof openings to be found in Zuñi, are framed with pieces of wood. The methods of holding the pieces in place vary somewhat in minor detail. It is quite likely that recent examples, while still preserving the form and general appearance of the earlier ones, would bear evidence that the builders had used their knowledge of improved methods of joining and finishing.

kiva trap door
kiva trap door

Fig. 98. Kiva trapdoor in Zuñi.

As may readily be seen from the illustration, Fig. 98, this framing, by the addition of a cross piece, divides the opening unequally. The smaller aperture is situated immediately above the fireplace (which conforms to the ancient type without chimney and located in the open floor of the room) and is very evidently designed to furnish an outlet to the smoke. In a chamber having no side doors or windows, or at most

In the best made frames for kiva entrances the timbers are “halved” in the manner of our carpenters, the joint being additionally secured by a pin as shown in Fig. 99.

trap door frame
trap door frame

Fig. 99. Halved and pinned trapdoor frame of a Zuñi kiva.

The use of a frame of wood in these trapdoors dates back to a comparatively high antiquity, and is not at all a modern innovation, as one would at first be inclined to believe. Their use in so highly developed a form in the ceremonial chamber is an argument in favor of antiquity. Only two examples were discovered by Mr. L. H. Morgan in a ruined pueblo on the Animas. “One of these measured 16 by 17 inches and the other was 16 inches square. Each was formed in the floor by pieces of wood put together. The work was neatly done.”8

Unfortunately, Mr. Morgan does not describe in detail the manner in which the joining was effected, or whether the pieces were halved or cut to fit. It seems hardly likely, considering the rude facilities possessed by the ancients, that the enormous labor of reducing large pieces of wood to such interfitting shapes would have been undertaken. A certain neatness of finish would undoubtedly be attained by arranging the principal roof beams and the small poles that cross them at right angles, in the usual careful manner of the ancient builders. The kiva roof opening, with the hole serving for access and smoke exit, is paralleled

At the village of Acoma the kiva trapdoors differ somewhat from the Zuñi form. The survey of this village was somewhat hasty, and no opportunity was afforded of ascertaining from the Indians the special purpose of the mode of construction adopted. The roof hole is divided, as in Zuñi, but the portion against which the ladder leans, instead of being made into a smoke vent, is provided with a small roof. These roof holes to the ceremonial chamber are entered directly from the open air, while in the dwelling rooms it seems customary (much more customary than at Zuñi) to enter the lower stories through trapdoors within upper rooms. In many instances second-story rooms have no exterior rooms but are entered from rooms above, contrary to the usual arrangement in both Tusayan and Cibola. All six of the kivas in this village are provided with this peculiarly constructed opening.

Notes in this chapter

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