FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162  
163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   >>   >|  
ng pot, blackened with soot, was found in one corner of this room, and near it was a circular depression in the floor 17 inches in diameter, evidently a fireplace. Room _c_ is smaller than either of the preceding, and is the only one with two passageways into adjoining chambers. Remains of wooden beams in a fair state of preservation were found on the floors of rooms _c_ and _b_, but they were not charred, as is so often the case, nor were there any ashes except in the supposed fireplace. Room _d_ is larger than those already mentioned, being 7 feet 8 inches by 5 feet, and connects with room _c_ by means of a passageway. Rooms _e_ and _f_ communicate with each other by an opening 16 inches wide. We found the floors of these rooms 4 feet below the surface. The length of room _e_ is 8 feet. Room _f_ is 6 feet 8 inches long and of the same width as _e_. The three chambers _g_, _h_, and _i_ are each 6 feet 9 inches wide, but of varying width. Room _g_ is 5 feet 2 inches, _h_ is 8 feet 6 inches, and _i_, the smallest of all, only a foot wide. These three rooms have no intercommunication. The evidence of former fires in some of these rooms, afforded by soot on the walls and ashes in the depressions identified as old fireplaces, is most important. In one or two places I broke off a fragment of the plastering and found it to be composed of many strata of alternating black and adobe color, indicating successive plasterings of the room. Apparently when the surface wall became blackened by smoke it was renewed by a fresh layer or wash of adobe in the manner followed in renovating the kiva walls today.[108] An examination of the dimensions of the rooms of the acropolis will show that, while small, they are about the average size of the chambers in most other southwestern ruins. They are, however, much smaller than the rooms of the modern pueblo of Walpi or those of the cliff ruins in the Red-rock region, elsewhere described. Evidently the roof was 2 or 3 feet higher than the top of the present walls, and the absence of external passageways would seem to indicate that entrance was through the roof. The narrow chamber, _i_, is no smaller than some of those which were excavated at Awatobi, but unless it was a storage bin or dark closet for ceremonial paraphernalia its function is not known to me. The mural plastering was especially well done in rooms _g_ and _h_, a section thereof showing many successive thin strata of soot
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162  
163   164   165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
inches
 

chambers

 

smaller

 
plastering
 

strata

 

successive

 

surface

 

floors

 

passageways

 

blackened


fireplace

 
dimensions
 

examination

 
acropolis
 
average
 

function

 

renovating

 

entrance

 

section

 

thereof


Apparently

 

renewed

 

manner

 

showing

 

southwestern

 
external
 

region

 

Awatobi

 

Evidently

 

higher


plasterings

 

absence

 
chamber
 

excavated

 

ceremonial

 

paraphernalia

 

narrow

 

closet

 

pueblo

 

storage


modern
 
present
 

preservation

 

charred

 

supposed

 
connects
 

mentioned

 
larger
 
circular
 

depression