rilege. A new site
was selected close by and the newly acquired knowledge of the use of
powder was utilized in blasting out the excavation for this subterranean
chamber. It is altogether probable that the sites of all former kivas
were largely determined by accident, these rooms being built at points
where natural fissures or open spaces in the broken mesa edge furnished
a suitable depression or cavity. The builders were not capable of
working the stone to any great extent, and their operations were
probably limited to trimming out such natural excavations and in part
lining them with masonry.

There is a very noticeable scarcity of roof-holes, aside from those of
the first terrace. As a rule the first terrace has no external openings
on the ground and is entered from its roof through large trap-doors, as
shown on the plans. The lower rooms within this first terrace are not
inhabited, but are used as storerooms.

At several points ruined walls are seen, remains of abandoned rooms that
have fallen into decay. Occasionally a rough, buttress-like projection
from a wall is the only vestige of a room or a cluster of rooms, all
traces on the ground having been obliterated.

The mesa summit, that forms the site of this village, is nearly level,
with very little earth on its surface. A thin accumulation of soil and
rubbish lightly covers the inner court, but outside, along the face of
the long row, the bare rock is exposed continuously. Where the rooms
have been abandoned and the walls have fallen, the stones have all been
utilized in later constructions, leaving no vestige of the former wall
on the rocky site, as the stones of the masonry have always been set
upon the surface of the rock, with no excavation or preparation of
footings of any kind.

SICHUMOVI.

According to traditional accounts this village was founded at a more
recent date than Walpi. It has, however, undergone many changes since
its first establishment.

The principal building is a long irregular row, similar to that of Hano
(Pl. XVIII). A portion of an L-shaped cluster west of this row, and a
small row near it parallel to the main building, form a rude
approximation to the inclosed court arrangement. The terracing here,
however, is not always on the court side, whereas in ancient examples
such arrangement was an essential defensive feature, as the court
furnished the only approach to upper terraces. In all of these villages
there is a noticeable tende