aza,
but probably penetrated by narrow courts or passages. No great
ceremonial dance could have taken place in the heart of the pueblo,
since there was not sufficient space for its celebration, but it must
have occurred outside the village, probably in the open space to the
east, near where the ruined walls of the mission now stand.

From the nature of the western mounds I found it advantageous to begin
the work of excavation in the steep decline on the southern side, and
to penetrate the mound on the level of its base or the rock formation
which forms its foundation. In this way all the debris could
advantageously be moved and thrown over the side of the mesa. We began
to open the mounds, therefore, on the southern side, making converging
trenches at intervals, working toward their center. We found that
these trenches followed continuous walls connected by cross
partitions, forming rooms, and that these were continued as far as we
penetrated. The evidence is good that these rooms are followed by
others which extend into the deepest part of the mound. We likewise
excavated at intervals over the whole surface of the western area of
Awatobi, and wherever we dug, walls of former rooms, which diminished
in altitude on the northern side, were found. From these excavations I
concluded that if any part of the western mound was higher than the
remainder, it was on the southern side just above the edge of the
mesa, and from that highest point the pueblo diminished in altitude to
the north, in which direction it was continued for some distance in
low, single-story rooms.

ROOMS OF THE WESTERN MOUND

The older or western portion of Awatobi is thus believed to be made up
of a number of high mounds which rise steeply, and for a considerable
height from the southern edge of the cliff, from which it slopes more
gradually to the north and west. On account of this steep declivity we
were able to examine, in vertical section, the arrangement of the
rooms, one above the other (figure 256). By beginning excavations on
the rocky foundation and working into the mound, parallel walls were
encountered at intervals as far as we penetrated. From the edge of the
cliff there seemed to extend a series of these parallel walls,
which were united by cross partitions, forming a series of rooms,
one back of another. The deeper we penetrated the mound the higher the
walls were found to be, and this was true of the excavations along the
whole southe