A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola Part 5

These afforded no special information, as the character of the masonry exposed differed in no respect from that seen at other of the Tusayan ruins. No traces of adobe construction or suggestions of foreign influence were seen at this ruin.

SMALL RUIN BETWEEN HORN HOUSE AND BAT HOUSE.

On a prolongation of the mesa occupied by the Horn House, midway between it and another ruined pueblo known as the Bat House, occur the remains of a small and compact cl.u.s.ter of houses (Fig. 3). It is situated on the very mesa edge, here about 40 feet high, at the head of a small canyon which opens into the Jeditoh Valley, a quarter of a mile below.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 3. Ruin between Bat House and Horn House.]

The site affords an extended outlook to the south over a large part of Jeditoh Valley. The topography about this point, which receives the drainage of a considerable area of the mesa top, would fit it especially for the establishment of a reservoir. This fact probably had much to do with its selection as a dwelling site. The masonry is in about the same state of preservation as that of the Horn House, and some of the stones of the fallen walls seem to have been washed down from the mesa edge to the talus below.

BAT HOUSE.

The Bat House is a ruin of nearly the same size as the Horn House, although in its distribution it does not follow the mesa edge so closely as the latter, and is not so elongated in its general form. The northern portion is quite irregular, and the rooms seem to have been somewhat crowded. The southern half, with only an occasional room traceable, as indicated on the plan, Pl. VIII, still shows that the rooms were distributed about a large open court.

The Bat House is situated on the northwest side of the Jeditoh Valley, on part of the same mesa occupied by the two ruins described above. It occupies the summit of a projecting spur, overlooking the main valley for an extent of more than 5 miles. The ruin lies on the extreme edge of the cliff, here about 200 feet high, and lying beneath it on the east and south are large areas of arable land. Altogether it forms an excellent defensive site, combined with a fair degree of convenience to fields and water from the Tusayan point of view.

This ruin, near its northeastern extremity, contains a feature that is quite foreign to the architecture of Tusayan, viz, a defensive wall.

It is the only instance of the use by the Hopituh of an inclosing wall, though it is met with again at Payupki (Pl. XIII), which, however, was built by people from the Rio Grande country.

MIs.h.i.+PTONGA.

Mis.h.i.+ptonga is the Tusayan name for the southernmost, and by far the largest, of the Jeditoh series of ruins (Pl. IX). It occurs quite close to the Jeditoh spring which gives its name to the valley along whose northern and western border are distributed the ruins above described, beginning with the Horn house.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXI. View of Walpi.]

This village is rather more irregular in its arrangement than any other of the series. There are indications of a number of courts inclosed by large and small cl.u.s.ters of rooms, very irregularly disposed, but with a general trend towards the northeast, being roughly parallel with the mesa edge. In plan this village approaches somewhat that of the inhabited Tusayan villages. At the extreme southern extremity of the mesa promontory is a small secondary bench, 20 feet lower than the site of the main village. This bench has also been occupied by a number of houses. On the east side the pueblo was built to the very edge of the bluff, where small fragments of masonry are still standing. The whole village seems so irregular and crowded in its arrangement that it suggests a long period of occupancy and growth, much more than do the other villages of this (Jeditoh) group.

The pueblo may have been abandoned or destroyed prior to the advent of the Spaniards in this country, as claimed by the Indians, for no traditional mention of it is made in connection with the later feuds and wars that figure so prominently in the Tusayan oral history of the last three centuries. The pueblo was undoubtedly built by some of the ancient gentes of the Tusayan stock, as its plan, the character of the site chosen, and, where traceable, the quality of workmans.h.i.+p link it with the other villages of the Jeditoh group.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 4. Ruin near Moen-kopi, plan.]

MOEN-KOPI RUINS.

A very small group of rooms, even smaller than the neighboring farming pueblo of Moen-kopi, is situated on the western edge of the mesa summit about a quarter of a mile north of the modern village of Moen-kopi. As the plan shows (Fig. 4), the rooms were distributed in three rows around a small court. This ruin also follows the general northeastern trend which has been noticed both in the ruined and in the occupied pueblos of Tusayan. The rows here were only one room deep and not more than a single story high at any point, as indicated by the very small amount of dbris. As the plate shows, nearly the entire plan is clearly defined by fragments of standing walls. The walls are built of thin tablets of the dark-colored sandstone which caps the mesa. Where the walls have fallen the dbris is comparatively free from earth, indicating that adobe has been sparingly used. The walls, in places standing to a height of 2 or 3 feet, as may be seen in the ill.u.s.tration, Pl. X, show unusual precision of workmans.h.i.+p and finish, resembling in this respect some of the ancient pueblos farther north. This is to some extent due to the exceptional suitability of the tabular stones of the mesa summit. The almost entire absence of pottery fragments and other objects of art which are such a constant accompaniment of the ruins throughout this region strongly suggest that it was occupied for a very short time. In Chapter III it will be shown that a similar order of occupation took place at Ojo Caliente, one of the Zui farming villages. This ruin is probably of quite recent origin, as is the present village of Moen-kopi, although it may possibly have belonged to an earlier colony of which we have no distinct trace. This fertile and well watered valley, a veritable garden spot in the Tusayan deserts, must have been one of the first points occupied. Some small cliff-dwellings, single rooms in niches of a neighboring canyon wall, attest the earlier use of the valley for agricultural purposes, although it is doubtful whether these rude shelters date back of the Spanish invasion of the province.

A close scrutiny of the many favorable sites in this vicinity would probably reveal the sand-enc.u.mbered remains of some more important settlement than any of those now known.

RUINS ON THE ORAIBI WASH.

The wagon road from Keams Canyon to Tuba City crosses the Oraibi wash at a point about 7 miles above the village of Oraibi. As it enters a branch canyon on the west side of the wash it is flanked on each side by rocky mesas and broken ledges. On the left or west side a bold promontory, extending southward, is quite a conspicuous feature of the landscape. The entire flat mesa summit, and much of the slope of a rocky b.u.t.te that rises from it, are covered with the remains of a small pueblo, as shown on the plan, Fig. 5. All of this knoll except its eastern side is lightly covered with scattered dbris. On the west and north sides there are many large ma.s.ses of broken rock distributed over the slope. There is no standing wall visible from below, but on closer approach several interesting specimens of masonry are seen. On the north side, near the west end, there is a fragment of curved wall which follows the margin of the rock on which it is built. It is about 8 or 10 feet long and 3 feet high on the outer side. The curve is carefully executed and the workmans.h.i.+p of the masonry good. Farther east, and still on the north side, there is a fragment of masonry exhibiting a reversed curve. This piece of wall spans the s.p.a.ce between two adjoining rocks, and the top of the wall is more than 10 feet above the rock on which it stands. The shape of this wall and its relation to the surroundings are indicated on the plan, Fig. 5. On the south side of the ruin on the mesa surface, and near an outcropping rock, are the remains of what appears to have been a circular room, perhaps 8 or 10 feet in diameter, though it is too much broken down to determine this accurately. Only a small portion of the south wall can be definitely traced. On the south slope of the mesa are indications of walls, too vaguely defined to admit of the determination of their direction.

Similar vestiges of masonry are found on the north and west, but not extending to as great a distance from the knoll as those on the south.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXII. South pa.s.sageway of Walpi.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 5. Ruin 7 miles north of Oraibi.]

In that portion of the ruin which lies on top of the knoll, the walls so far as traced conform to the shape of the site. The ground plan of the buildings that once occupied the slopes can not be traced, and it is impossible to determine whether its walls were carried through continuously.

The masonry exhibited in the few surviving fragments of wall is of unusually good quality, resembling somewhat that of the Fire House, Fig.

7, and other ruins of that cla.s.s. The stones are of medium size, not dressed, and are rather rougher and less flat than is usual, but the wall has a good finish. The stone, however, is of poor quality. Most of the dbris about the ruin consists of small stone fragments and sand, comparatively few stones of the size used in the walls being seen. The material evidently came from the immediate vicinity of the ruin.

Pottery fragments were quite abundant about this ruin, most of the ware represented being of exceptional quality and belonging to the older types; red ware with black lines and black and white ware were especially abundant.

There is quite an extensive view from the ruin, the top of the b.u.t.te commanding an outlook down the valley past Oraibi, and about 5 miles north. There is also an extended outlook up the valley followed by the wagon road above referred to, and over two branch valleys, one on the east and another of much less extent on the west. The site was well adapted for defense, which must have been one of the princ.i.p.al motives for its selection.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 6. Ruin 14 miles north of Oraibi (Kwaituki).]

KWAITUKI.

The ruin known to the Tusayan as Kwaituki (Fig. 6) is also on the west side of the Oraibi wash, 14 miles above Oraibi, and about 7 miles above the ruin last described. Its general resemblance to the latter is very striking. The builders have apparently been actuated by the same motives in their choice of a site, and their manner of utilizing it corresponds very closely. The crowning feature of the rocky knoll in this case is a picturesque group of rectangular ma.s.ses of sandstone, somewhat irregularly distributed. The bare summit of a large block-like ma.s.s still retains the vestiges of rooms, and probably most of the groups were at one time covered with buildings, forming a prominent citadel-like group in the midst of the village. To the north of this rocky b.u.t.te a large area seems to have been at one time inclosed by buildings, forming a court of unusual dimensions. Along the outer margin of the pueblo occasional fragments of walls define former rooms, but the amount and character of the dbris indicate that the inner area was almost completely inclosed with buildings. The remains of masonry extend on the south a little beyond the base of the central group of rocks, but here the vestiges of stonework are rather faint and scattered.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXIII. Houses built over irregular sites, Walpi.]

In the nearly level tops of some of the rocks forming the central pile are many smoothly worn depressions or cavities, which have evidently been used for the grinding and shaping of stone implements.

A remarkable feature occurring within this village is a cave or underground fissure in the rocks, which evidently had been used by the inhabitants. The mouth or entrance to this cavern, partly obstructed and concealed at the time of our visit, occurs at the point A on the plan.

On clearing away the rubbish at the mouth and entering it was found so obstructed with broken rock and fine dust that but little progress could be made in its exploration; but the main crevice in the rock could be seen by artificial light to extend some 10 feet back from the mouth, where it became very shallow. It could be seen that the original cavern had been improved by the pueblo-builders, as some of the timbers that had been placed inside were still in position, and a low wall of masonry on the south side remained intact. Some Navajos stated that they had discovered this small cave a couple of years before and had taken from it a large unbroken water jar of ancient pottery and some other specimens. The place was probably used by the ancient occupants simply for storage.

Fragments of pottery of excellent quality were very abundant about this ruin and at the foot of the central rocks the ground was thickly strewn with fragments, often of large size.

The defensive character of this site parallels that of the ruin 7 miles farther south in quite a remarkable manner, and the villages were apparently built and occupied at the same time.

TEBUGKIHU, OR FIRE HOUSE.

About 15 miles northeast of Keams Canyon, and about 25 miles from Walpi, is a small ruin called by the Tusayan Tebugkihu, built by people of the Fire gens (now extinct). As the plan (Fig. 7) clearly shows, this pueblo is very different from the typical Tusayan villages that have been previously described. The apparent unity of the plan, and the skillful workmans.h.i.+p somewhat resembling the pueblos of the Chaco are in marked contrast to the irregularity and careless construction of most of the Tusayan ruins. Its distance from the center of the province, too, suggests outside relations.h.i.+p; but still the Tusayan traditions undoubtedly connect the place with some of the ancestral gentes, as seen in Chapter I.

The small and compact cl.u.s.ter of rooms is in a remarkable state of preservation, especially the outside wall. This wall was carefully and ma.s.sively constructed, and stands to the height of several feet around the entire circ.u.mference of the ruin, except along the brink of the cliff, as the plan shows.

This outer wall contains by far the largest stones yet found incorporated in pueblo masonry. A fragment of this masonry is ill.u.s.trated in Pl. XI. The largest stone shown measures about 5 feet in length, and the one adjoining on the right measures about 4 feet. These dimensions are quite remarkable in pueblo masonry, which is distinguished by the use of very small stones.

The well defined outer wall of this cl.u.s.ter to the unaided eye appears to be elliptical, but it will be seen from the plan that the ellipse is somewhat pointed on the side farthest from the cliff. As in other cases of ancient pueblos with curved outlines, the outer wall seems to have been built first, and the inner rooms, while kept as rectangular as possible, were adjusted to this curve. This arrangement often led to a c.u.mulating divergence from radial lines in some of the part.i.tions, which irregularity was taken up in one room, as in this instance, in the s.p.a.ce near the gate. The outer wall is uniform in construction so far as preserved. Many irregularities appear, however, in the construction of the inner or part.i.tion walls, and some of the rooms show awkward attempts at adjustment to the curve of the outer wall.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 7. Oval (Fire House) ruin, plan (Tebugkihu).]

The ruin is situated on the very brink of a small canyon, which probably contained a spring at the foot of the cliff close under the ruin site, as the vegetation there has an unusual appearance of freshness, suggesting the close proximity of water to the surface. A steep trail evidently connected the village with the bottom of the canyon. Some of the rocks of the mesa rim were marked by numerous cup-like cavities similar to those seen at Kwaituki, and used in the polis.h.i.+ng and forming of stone implements. The type of pueblo here ill.u.s.trated belonged to a people who relied largely on the architecture for defense, differing in this respect from the spirit of Tusayan architecture generally, where the inaccessible character of the site was the chief dependence.

CHUKUBI.

The ruin called Chukubi by the Tusayan (Pl. XII) is situated on the Middle Mesa, about 3 miles northeast of Mashongnavi. It occupies a promontory above the same broad sandstone ledge that forms such a conspicuous feature in the vicinity of Mashongnavi and Shupaulovi, and which supports the b.u.t.tes upon which these villages are built.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XXIV. Dance rock and kiva, Walpi.]

Little masonry now remains on this site, but here and there a fragment aids in defining the general plan of the pueblo. In general form the village was a large rectangle with a line of buildings across its center, dividing it into two unequal courts, and a projecting wing on the west side. As may be seen from the ill.u.s.tration, one end of the ruin forms a clearly defined rectangular court, composed of buildings mostly two rooms deep. Here, as in other ruins of Tusayan, the arrangement about inclosed courts is in contrast with the parallelism of rows, so noticeable a feature in the occupied villages. At the east end of the ruin are several curious excavations. The soft sandstone has been hollowed out to a depth of about 10 inches, in prolongation of the outlines of adjoining rooms. Such excavation to obtain level floors is quite unusual among the pueblo builders; it was practiced to a very small extent, and only where it could be done with little trouble. Any serious inequality of surface was usually incorporated in the construction, as will be noticed at Walpi (Pl. XXIII). Vestiges of masonry indicating detached rooms were seen in each of the courts of the main rectangle.

On the slope of the hill, just above the broad ledge previously described, there is a fine spring, but no trace of a trail connecting it with the pueblo could be found.

This village was advantageously placed for defense, but not to the same degree as Payupki, ill.u.s.trated in Pl. XIII.

PAYUPKI.