Ruins of villages built of stone, either roughly dressed or merely
selected, represent the highest degree of art in architecture attained
by the aborigines of Verde valley, and the best example of this class of
ruin is found on the eastern side of the river, about a mile above the
mouth of Limestone creek. The site was selected without reference to
defense, and is overlooked by the hills which circumscribe a large
semicircular area of bottom land, on the northern end of which the
village was located. This is the largest ruin on the Verde; it covers an
area of about 450 feet square, or over 5 acres, and has some 225 rooms
on the ground plan. From the amount of debris we may infer that most of
the rooms were but one story in height; and a reasonable estimate of the
total number of rooms in the village when it was occupied would make the
number not greater than 300 rooms. The ratio of rooms to inhabitants in
the present pueblos would give a population for this village of about
450 persons. Zuñi, the largest inhabited pueblo, covering an area of
about 5 acres, has a population of 1,600.
It will thus be seen that, while the area covered by this village was
quite large, the population was comparatively small; in other words, the
dense clustering and so-called beehive structure which characterize Zuñi
and Taos, and are seen to a less extent in Oraibi, and which result from
long-continued pressure of hostile tribes upon a village occupying a
site not in itself easily defensible, has not been carried to such an
extent here as in the examples cited. But it is also apparent that this
village represents the beginning of the process which in time produces a
village like Zuñi or Taos.
Plate XII exhibits the ground plan of the village. It will be observed
that this plan is remarkably similar in general characters to the ground
plan of Zuñi.[2] A close inspection will reveal the presence of many
discrepancies in the plan, which suggest that the village received at
various times additions to its population in considerable numbers, and
was not the result of the gradual growth of one settlement nor the home
of a large group coming en masse to this locality. It has been shown[3]
that in the old provinces of Tusayan and Cibola (Moki and Zuñi) the
present villages are the result of the aggregation of many related
gentes and subgentes, who reached their present location at different
times and from different directions, and this seems to be the almost
universal rule for the larger pueblos and ruins. It should be noted in
this connection, however, that, the preceding statements being granted,
a general plan of this character indicates an essentially modern origin
or foundation.
[Footnote 2: Eighth Ann. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology, 1886-’87, Wash.,
1891, pl. lxxvi.]
[Footnote 3: Ibid., pp. 1-228.]
The ground plan shows a number of courts or open spaces, which divided
the village into four well-defined clusters. The largest court was
nearly in the center of the village, and within it (as shown, on the
plan) there are traces of a small single-room structure that may have
been a kiva of sacred chamber. Attached to this main court and extending
eastward is another court of considerable size, and connected with this
second court at its eastern end there is another one almost square in
plan and of fair size. West of the main court may be seen a small court
opening into it, and north of this another square space separated from
the main court by a single stone wall and inclosed on the other three
sides by rooms. In addition to these there are two completely inclosed
small courts in the center of the southwestern cluster, and another one
of moderate size between the southwestern and southern clusters.
The arrangement of these courts is highly suggestive. The central space
was evidently the main court of the village at the time of its greatest
development, and it is equally evident that it was inclosed at a later
period than the small inclosed courts immediately adjacent to it, for
had the latter not preceded it they would not occupy the positions they
now do. Plate XIII represents a part of the main court, and beyond the
débris can be seen a small portion of the bottom upon which the village
is built. To the left, in the foreground of the illustration, are traces
of a small detached room, perhaps the main kiva[4] of the village; this
is also shown on the ground plan, plate XII.
[Footnote 4: The kiva is the assembly chamber, termed estufa in
some of the older writings, particularly those of the early Spanish
explorers. A full description of these peculiar structures has
already been published in an article on Pueblo architecture; Eighth
Ann. Rep. Bureau of Ethnology, 1886-’87, Wash., 1891, pp. 1-228.]
The smaller courts are but little larger than the largest rooms, but it
will be noticed that while some of the rooms are quite large they are
always oblong. This requirement was dictated by the length of available
roofing timbers. The cottonwood groves on the river bank would provide
timber of fair size but of very poor quality, and, aside from this,
roofing timbers longer than 15 feet could be obtained only at points
many miles distant. In either case the hauling of these timbers to the
site of the village would be a work of great labor and considerable
difficulty. The width of the rooms was, therefore, limited to about 20
feet, most of them being under 15 feet; but this limitation did not
apply to the courts, which, though sometimes surrounded on all sides by
buildings, were always open to the sky.
[Illustration: Plate XVI.
RUIN AT MOUTH OF FOSSIL CREEK.]
It is probable that the central and northern portion of the southwestern
cluster comprised the first rooms built in this village. This is the
portion which commands the best outlook over the bottom, and it is also
on the highest ground. Following this the southern cluster was probably
built; afterwards the northern cluster was added, and finally the
northwestern cluster. Subsequently rooms connecting these clusters and
the eastern end of the village were built up, and probably last of all
were added the rooms which occupied what was originally the eastern end
of the main court. This hypothetic order of building the clusters
composing the village is supported by the character of the site and the
peculiarities of the ground plan. Most of the rooms in the northwestern
cluster and in the eastern part of the village were but one story in
height, while the crowding in the interior of the village, direct
evidence of which is seen on the ground plan, could take place only
after the rooms surrounding that area had been located, and when hostile
pressure from outside made it undesirable to extend the bounds of the
village; in other words, at the latest stage in the growth of the
village.
The arrangement and distribution of the rooms within the clusters
indicate an occupancy extending over a considerable period of time.
A reference to the ground plan will show that continuous wall lines are
the exception, and it is seldom that more than two or three rooms are
grouped together in regular order. In irregularity of arrangement the
inhabitants of this village followed a general habit, the result of
which can be seen today in all the inhabited villages and in most of the
large pueblo ruins. It indicates a steady growth of the village by the
addition of rooms, one or two at a time, as they were needed. The
division into clusters, however, indicates an aggregation of related
gentes or subgentes banded together for protection. Given these
conditions, (1) bands of related families living near one another; (2)
hostile pressure from outside; and (3) a site not in itself easily
defended, and a ground plan similar to the one under discussion must
result. Single detached rooms would not be built when the village might
be attacked at any time, but they might be added during periods of peace
and, the conditions being favorable, they might form the nuclei of other
clusters. It is possible that some of the clusters forming this village
had their origin in this manner, but this question can not be determined
from the ground plan, as a similar result would be produced by the
advent of a small band of related families.
Growth in number of rooms does not necessarily indicate growth in
population, and this qualification must not be lost sight of in the
discussion of pueblo ground plans. Among the Pueblos of today, descent,
in real property at least, is in the female line; when a man marries he
becomes a member of his wife’s family and leaves his own home to live
with his wife’s people. If the wife’s home is not large enough to
contain all the members of the household, additional rooms are built
adjoining and connected with those previously occupied. It may be
mentioned in this connection that the women build the houses, although
the men supply the material and do the heavy work. The result of this
custom may be readily seen: a family in which there are many daughters
must necessarily increase the space occupied by it, while a family
consisting of sons, no matter how many they may be, will become extinct,
so far as regards its home in the village. It is no uncommon thing to
see in the villages of today several rooms in course of erection while
there are a dozen or more rooms within a few steps abandoned and going
to decay. Long occupancy, therefore, produces much the same effect on a
ground plan of a village as a large population, or a rapidly growing
one, except that in the former case irregularity in the arrangement of
rooms will be more pronounced.
It will be noticed that the size of rooms is more varied in the
southwestern and southern clusters than in the remaining portions of the
village. In the southwestern cluster rooms measuring 8 feet by 18 or 20
are not uncommon. These occur principally in the central and
southwestern part of the cluster, while in the northern and northeastern
part the rooms are uncommonly large, one of them measuring about 40 feet
in length by nearly 15 feet in width and presenting a floor area of 600
square feet. Rooms approaching this size are more common, however, in
the northern and northwestern clusters. In these latter clusters long
narrow rooms are the exception and a number of almost square ones are
seen. The smallest room in the village is in the center of the southern
cluster, on the highest ground within the area covered by the ruin; it
measures 6 feet by 10, with a floor area of 60 square feet, as opposed
to the 600 square feet of the largest room. This small room was probably
at one time a small open space between two projecting rooms, such as are
often seen in the inhabited pueblos. Later the room on the south was
built and the front of the space was walled up in order to make a
rectangular area, thus forming the small room shown on the ground plan.
The maximum length of any room is about 40 feet, the maximum width
attained is about 20 feet, and in a general way it may be stated that
the average size of the rooms is considerably larger than that of the
rooms in the northern ruins.
From the regularity in distribution of the debris now on the ground,
it appears that the rooms of the northwestern and northern clusters,
including the eastern part of the village, were almost uniformly one
story in height, and most of the rooms in the other clusters were also
limited in height to a single story. The only places on the ground plan
where rooms of two stories might have existed are the northern and
central parts of the southwestern and southern clusters, and perhaps the
southern side of the northern cluster; the last, however, being very
doubtful.
[Illustration: Plate XVII.
GROUND PLAN OF RUINS OPPOSITE VERDE.]
In the scarcity of detached rooms or small clusters the plan of this
village strongly resembles the ground plan of Zuñi. Only three detached
rooms are seen in the plan. One of these, situated in the main or
central court, has already been referred to as probably the remains of a
kiva or sacred chamber. Another single room occurs outside of the
village, near its southwestern corner. This was probably a dwelling
room, for a kiva would hardly be located in this place. The third room
is found also outside the village and at its southeastern corner. The
space inclosed within the walls of this room measured about 7 feet by 4
and the lines of wall are at an acute angle with the wall lines of the
village. This structure is anomalous, and its purpose is not clear.
The absence of clearly defined traces of passageways to the interior of
the village is noticeable. This absence can hardly be attributed to the
advanced state of decay in the ruin, for nearly all the wall lines can
still be easily traced. At one point only is there a suggestion of an
open passageway similar to those found in the inhabited pueblos. This
occurs in the southeastern corner of the ground plan, between the
southern cluster and the southern part of the northeastern cluster.
It was about 25 feet long and but 6 feet wide in the clear. There were
undoubtedly other passageways to the interior courts, but they were
probably roofed over and perhaps consisted of rooms abandoned for that
purpose. This, however, is anomalous.
There are several other anomalous features in the ground plan, the
purposes of which are not clear. Prominent among them is a heavy wall
extending about halfway across the southern, side of the village and at
some distance from it. The total length of this wall is 164 feet; it is
4 feet thick (nearly twice the thickness of the other walls), and is
pierced near its center by an opening or gateway 4 feet wide. The
nearest rooms of the village on the north are over 40 feet away. This
wall is now much broken down, but here and there, as shown on the plan,
portions of the original wall lines are left. It is probable that its
original height did not exceed 5 or 6 feet. The purpose of this
structure is obscure; it could not have been erected for defense, for it
has no defensive value whatever; it had no connection with the houses of
the village, for it is too far removed from them. The only possible use
of this wall that occurs to the writer is that it was a dam or retaining
wall for a shallow pool of water, fed by the surface drainage of a small
area on the east and northeast. There is at present a very slight
depression between the wall and the first houses of the village toward
the north--about a foot or a foot and a half--but there may have been a
depression of 2 or 3 feet here at one time and this depression may have
been subsequently filled up by sediment. This conjecture could be easily
tested by excavating a trench across the area between the wall and the
houses, but in the absence of such an excavation the suggestion is a
mere surmise.
Another anomalous feature is found in the center of the southwestern
cluster. Here, in two different rooms, are found walls of double the
usual thickness, occurring, however, on only one or two sides of the
rooms. These are clearly shown on the ground plan. The westernmost of
the two rooms which exhibit this feature has walls of normal thickness
on three of its sides, while the fourth or eastern side consists of two
walls of normal thickness, built side by side, perhaps the result of
some domestic quarrel. The eastern room, however, has thick walls on its
northern and eastern sides, and in this case the walls are built solidly
at one time, not consisting, as in the previous case, of two walls of
ordinary thickness built side by side. An inspection of the ground plan
will show that in both these cases this feature is anomalous and
probably unimportant.
A ruin of the same general type as that just described, but much smaller
in size, is found about 6 miles farther northward on the eastern side of
the river. It is located on the river edge of a large semicircular flat
or terrace, near its northern end, and is built of flat slabs of
limestone and river bowlders. It is rectangular in plan and of moderate
size. On the southern end of the same flat are two single-room rancher’s
houses and a large corral. The rooms in this ruin are oblong and similar
in size and arrangement to those just described.
[Illustration: Figure 279.
Sketch map, site of small ruin 10 miles north of Fossil creek.]
About 11 miles above the last-described ruin, or 17 miles above the
large ruin near Limestone creek, there is another small ruin of the same
general type as the last, located on a similar site, and in all
respects, except size, closely similar to it.
About 3 miles below the mouth of the East Verde there is still another
ruin of similar character, located on the edge of a mesa or bench
overlooking the river. It is built of bowlders and slabs of rock. Like
the others this ruin is rectangular in plan and of small size.
About 10 miles north of the mouth of Fossil creek, on the point of a
bench or terrace on the western side of the river, and perhaps 20 feet
above it, occurs a small ruin, similar in character to the preceding.
The river here makes a long turn eastward, then flows south again, and
in the angle a small bench or terrace is formed. At this point the
mountains rise abruptly from the river on both sides to a height of over
a thousand feet. Fig. 279 illustrates the location of this ruin. So far
as could be distinguished from the hills opposite, the rooms occur in
two broken lines at right angles to each other.
[Illustration: Plate XVIII.
GENERAL VIEW OF RUINS OPPOSITE VERDE.]
These four small ruins are all closely similar to the large ruin
described above in all respects except size, and peculiarities of ground
plan attendant on size. The rooms are always rectangular, generally
oblong, and arranged without regularity as regards their longer axis.
Except the one last described, the ruins consist of compact masses of
rooms, without evidences of interior courts, all of very small size, and
all located without reference to defense. The last-described ruin
differs from the others only in the arrangement of rooms. There is
practically no standing wall remaining in any of them, and even now they
can be seen for miles from the hills above. When the walls were standing
they must have been conspicuous landmarks. The masonry of all consists
of flat bowlders, selected doubtless from the river bed, or perhaps
sometimes quarried from the terraces, which themselves contain large
numbers of river bowlders. In general appearance and in plan these ruins
resemble the ruin next to be described, situated near the mouth of the
East Verde.
[Illustration: Figure 280.
Ground plan of ruin at mouth of the East Verde.]
On the southern side of the East Verde, half a mile above its mouth, a
small creek comes in from the south, probably dry throughout most of the
year; and on a promontory or point of land left by this creek a small
ruin occurs. It is similar in plan and in character of masonry to those
just described, and differs from them only in that its site is better
adapted for defense, being protected on two sides by steep hills or
cliffs. The ground plan of this ruin is shown in figure 280, and its
general appearance in plate XIV, which also shows the character of
masonry. The village overlooked a large area of low bottom land in the
angle between the Verde and the East Verde, and is itself overlooked by
the foothills rising behind it to the high mesas forming part of the
Mazatzal mountains.
The walls of this village were built of flat bowlders and slabs of
limestone, and there is now practically no standing wall remaining. The
ground plan shows a number of places where the walls are still visible,
but they extend only a few inches above the debris. There were about
forty rooms, and the plan is characterized by irregularities such as
have already been noticed in other plans. Although the village was of
considerable size it was built up solidly, and there is no trace of an
interior court. It will be noticed that the rooms vary much in size, and
that many of the smaller rooms are one half the size of the larger ones,
as though the larger rooms had been divided by partitions after they
were completed. It is probable that rooms extended partly down the slope
on the west and south of the village toward the little creek before
mentioned, but if this were the case all evidences have long since been
obliterated.
On the southern side of the village the ground plan shows a bit of
curved wall. It is doubtful whether this was an actual wall or merely a
terrace. If it was a wall it is the only example of curved wall found in
the region in ruins of this class. Between this wall or terrace and the
adjoining wall on the north, with which it was connected, the ground is
now filled in. Whether this filling occurred prior or subsequent to the
abandonment of the village does not appear. The northeastern corner of
the ruin is marked by a somewhat similar feature. Here there is a line
of wall now almost obliterated and but feebly marked by debris, and the
space between it and the village proper is partly filled in, forming a
low terrace. Analogous features are found in several other ruins in this
region, notably in the large ruin near Limestone creek. It should be
noted in this connection that Mr. E. W. Nelson has found that places
somewhat similar to these in the ruins about Springerville, New Mexico,
always well repaid the labor of excavation, and he adopted as a working
hypothesis the assumption that these were the burial places of the
village. Whether a similar condition would be found in this region can
only be determined by careful and systematic excavation.
The village did not occupy the whole of the mesa point on which it is
located; on the east the ground rises gently to the foothills of the
Mazatzal range, and on the south and west it slopes sharply down to the
little creek before mentioned; while on the north there is a terrace or
flat open space some 60 feet wide and almost parallel with the longer
axis of the village. This open space and the sharp fall which limits it
on the north is shown on the ground plan. The general view of the same
feature (plate XV) also shows the character of the valley of the East
Verde above the ruin; the stream is here confined within a low walled
canyon. This open space formed a part of the village and doubtless
occupied the same relation to it that interior courts do to other
villages. Its northern or outer edge is a trifle higher than the space
between it and the village proper and is marked by several large
bowlders and a small amount of debris. It is possible that at one time
there was a defensive wall here, although the ground falls so suddenly
that it is almost impossible to climb up to the edge from below without
artificial aid. Defensive walls such as this may have been are very rare
in pueblo architecture, only one instance having been encountered by the
writer in an experience of many years. The map seems to show more local
relief to this terrace than the general view indicates, but it should be
borne in mind that the contour interval is but 2½ feet.
[Illustration: Plate XIX.
SOUTHERN PART OF RUINS OPPOSITE VERDE.]
A comparison of the ground plan of this ruin and those previously
described, together with that of the ruin near the mouth of Fossil creek
(plate XVI), which is typical of this group, shows marked irregularity
in outline and plan. In the character of the debris also this ruin
differs from the Fossil creek ruin and others located near it. As in the
latter, bowlders were used in the wall, but unlike the latter rough
stone predominates. In the character of its masonry this ruin forms an
intermediate or connecting link between the ruins near Limestone creek
and opposite Verde and the class of which the ruin near the mouth of
Fossil creek is typical. In the character of its site it is of the same
class as the Fossil creek ruin, being intermediate between the valley
pueblos, such as that near Limestone creek, and pueblos located on
defensive sites, such as the group opposite Verde. The ground plan
indicates an occupancy extending over a considerable period of time and
terminating at or near the close of the period of aboriginal occupancy
of the valley of Rio Verde.
Another ruin, of a type closely similar, occurs on a bluff near the
mouth of Fossil creek. The plan of this ruin is shown in figure 281. The
village is located close to the edge of the bluff, as shown in the plan,
and has an outlook over a considerable area of bottom land adjoining the
bluff on the east. It is probable that the cavate lodges whose location
some 8 or 10 miles above the ruin, on Fossil creek, is shown on the
general map (plate XI) were appendages of this village.
The wall still standing extends but a few inches above the débris, but
enough remains to mark the principal wall lines, and these are farther
emphasized by the lines of débris. The débris here is remarkably clean
and stands out prominently from the ground surface, instead of being
merged into it as is usually the case. This is shown in the general view
of the ruin. There are twenty-five rooms on the ground plan, and there
is no evidence that any of these attained a greater height than one
story. The population, therefore, could not have been much, if any, in
excess of forty, and as the average family of the Pueblos consists of
five persons, this would make the number of families which found a home
in this village less than ten. Notwithstanding this small population the
ground plan of this village shows clearly a somewhat extended period of
occupancy and a gradual growth in size. The eastern half of the village,
which is located along the edge of the bluff, probably preceded the
western in point of time. It will be noticed that while the wall lines
are seldom continuous for more than three rooms, yet the rooms
themselves are arranged with a certain degree of regularity, in that the
longer axes are usually parallel.
[Illustration: Figure 281.
Ground plan of ruin near the month of Fossil creek.]
The masonry of this village is almost entirely of flat bowlders,
obtained probably from the bed of the creek immediately below. The
terrace on which the village was built, and in fact all the hills about
it are composed of gravel and bowlders, but it would be easier to carry
the bowlders up from the stream bed than to quarry them from the
hillside, and in the former case there would be a better opportunity for
selection. Plate XVI shows the character of the rock employed, and
illustrates the extent to which selection of rock has been carried.
Although the walls are built entirely of river bowlders the masonry
presents almost as good a face as some of the ruins previously described
as built of slabs of limestone, and this is due to careful selection of
the stone employed.
[Illustration: Plate XX.
GENERAL VIEW OF RUIN ON SOUTHERN SIDE OF CLEAR CREEK.]
About half a mile above the mouth of Fossil creek, and on the eastern
side of the river, a deep ravine comes in from the north and east, and
on a low spur near its mouth there is a ruin very similar to the one
just described. It is also about the same size. The general character of
the site it occupies is shown in the sketch, figure 282. The masonry is
of the same general character as that of the ruin near the mouth of
Fossil creek, and the débris, which stands out sharply from the ground
surface, is distinguished by the same cleanness.
[Illustration: Figure 282.
Sketch map, site of ruin above Fossil creek.]
About 8½ miles north of Fossil creek, on the eastern side of the Verde,
occurs a small ruin, somewhat different in the arrangement of rooms from
those described. Here there is a bench or terrace, some 50 feet above
the river, cut through near its northern end by a small canyon. The ruin
is located on the southern side of this terrace, near the mouth of the
creek, and consists of about ten rooms arranged in +L+ shape. The lines
are very irregular, and there are seldom more than three rooms
connected. The débris marking the wall lines is clean, and the lines are
well defined, although no standing wall remains.
About a mile above the last-described ruin, or 9½ miles north of the
mouth of Fossil creek, a small group of ruins occurs. The sketch, figure
283, shows the relation of the parts of this group to one another. The
small cluster or rooms on the south is very similar in character,
location, and size to the ruin last described. The northern portion is
situated on the opposite side of a deep canyon or ravine, on the crown
of a hill composed of limestone, which outcrops everywhere about it, and
is considerably higher than the small cluster on the south. The northern
ruin is of considerable size and very compactly built, the rooms being
clustered about the summit of the hill. The central room, occupying the
crown of the hill, is 20 feet higher than the outside rooms. In a saddle
between the main cluster and a similar hill toward the southeast there
are a number of other rooms, not marked so prominently by débris as
those of the main cluster. There is no standing wall remaining, but the
débris of the main and adjoining clusters indicates that the masonry was
very rough, the walls being composed of slabs of limestone similar to
those found in the large ruin near the mouth of Limestone creek, and
obtained probably not 20 feet away from their present position.
[Illustration: Figure 283.
Sketch map of ruin 9½ miles above Fossil creek.]
The ruin described on page 200 and assigned to the first subclass occurs
about half a mile north of this limestone hill, on the opposite side of
the river. This small ruin, like all the smaller ruins described, was
built of river bowlders, or river bowlders with occasional slabs of
sandstone or limestone, while the ruin last described consists
exclusively of limestone slabs. This difference is explained, however,
by the character of the sites occupied by the several ruins. The
limestone hill upon which the ruin under discussion is situated is an
anomalous feature, and its occurrence here undoubtedly determined the
location of this village. It is difficult otherwise to understand the
location of this cluster of rooms, for they command no outlook over
tillable land, although the view up and down the river is extensive.
This cluster, which is the largest in size for many miles up and down
the river, may have been the parent pueblo, occupying somewhat the same
relation to the smaller villages that Zuñi occupies to the summer
farming settlements of Nutria, Pescado, and Ojo Caliente; and doubtless
the single-room remains, which occur above and below the cluster on mesa
benches and near tillable tracts, were connected with it. This ruin is
an example of the second subclass, or villages located on defensive
sites, which merges into ruins of the first subclass, or villages on
bottom lands, through villages like that located at the mouth of the
East Verde and at the mouth of Fossil creek.
[Illustration: Plate XXI.
DETAILED VIEW OF RUIN ON SOUTHERN SIDE OF CLEAR CREEK.]
On the eastern side of the Verde, just below the mouth of Beaver creek,
opposite and a little above Verde, occurs one of the best examples to be
found in this region of a large village located on a defensive site.
Here there is a group of eight clusters extending half a mile up and
down the river, and some of the clusters have walls still standing to a
height of 8 and 10 feet. The relation of these clusters to each other is
shown in the sketch map, figure 284.
[Illustration: Figure 284.
Sketch map showing location of ruins opposite Verde.]
The principal ruin of the group is situated on the northern side of a
small valley running eastward from the river up to the foot of a
prominent mesa, which here bounds the eastern side of the river bottom.
The valley is perhaps half a mile long and about an eighth of a mile
wide. The ruin is located on a butte or knoll connected with the hills
back of it by a low saddle, forming a sort of promontory or tongue of
land rising from a flat space or bench, the whole some 200 feet above
the river bottom. One of the clusters of rooms is located in the saddle
mentioned and is connected with the main ruin. At the foot of the butte
on the western side there is a similar cluster, not connected, however,
with the main ruin; and south of the main ruin, on the extreme edge of
the little mesa or bench, there is another small cluster. The ruin shown
on the sketch map southwest of the main ruin consists of but two rooms,
with no wall now standing. All these clusters are shown in their proper
position on the ground plan, plate XVII. Plate XVIII, which is a general
view from the east, shows the main ruin on the butte, together with the
connected cluster east of it in the saddle. The modern settlement seen
in the middle distance is Verde.
About a quarter of a mile west of the main ruin there is another small
but well-preserved cluster of rooms. It occupies the narrow ridge of a
hill some 200 feet above the river. On the west and south, the hill
descends abruptly to the river; on the southeast and east it slopes
sharply down to a broad valley on the level of the mesa bench before
mentioned, but the valley is cut by a narrow and deep canyon marking the
east side of the hill. This cluster is shown on the ground plan, plate
XVII, though not in its proper position. Northeast of this cluster and
perhaps 200 yards distant there are traces of other rooms, but they are
so faint that no plan can be made out. As shown on the sketch map,
figure 284, the hill is a long narrow one, and its western side falls
rapidly to a large triangular area of flat bottom land lying between it
and Beaver creek, which it overlooks, as well as a large area of the
valley up the river and all the fine bottom lands north and east of
Verde and on the northwestern side of Beaver creek. As regards outlook,
and also as regards security and facility of defense, the site of the
small cluster is far superior to that of the main cluster of rooms.
About a quarter of a mile south and east of the main ruin, on the
opposite side of the little valley before mentioned, a mesa bench
similar to the one last described occurs; and on a point of this,
extending almost to the river bank, there are traces, now nearly
obliterated, of a small cluster of rooms. A short distance east of this
point there is a large rounded knoll, with a peculiar terrace-like bench
at about half its height. The entire summit of this knoll was occupied
by rooms, of which the walls are much broken and none remain standing.
This knoll, with the ruins on its summit, is shown in plate XIX, which
also gives a general view from the north of the small cluster southeast
of the main ruin. The character of the valley of the Verde at this point
is also shown. The sketch map, figure 284, shows the location of these
ruins in reference to others of the group.
The main cluster, that portion occupying the crown or summit of the
butte before described, exhibits at the present time some fifty rooms in
the ground plan, but there were at one time a larger number than this;
and there is no doubt that rooms extended down the slopes of the hill
southward and southwestward. The plan of this main cluster is peculiar;
it differs from all the smaller surrounding clusters. It tells the story
of a long occupancy by a people who increased largely in numbers, but
who, owing to their hostile environment, could not increase the space
occupied by them in proportion to their numbers. It will be noticed that
while the wall lines are remarkably irregular in arrangement they are
more often continuous than otherwise, more frequently continuous, in
fact, than the lines of some of the smaller villages before described.
The rooms are remarkably small, 10 feet square being a not unusual
measurement, and built so closely together as to leave no space for
interior courts. The typical rooms in the ruins of this region are
oblong, generally about twice as long as broad, measuring approximately
20 by 10 feet.
[Illustration: Plate XXII.
GENERAL VIEW OF RUIN 8 MILES NORTH OF FOSSIL CREEK.]
In the ruin under discussion it seems that each of these oblong rooms
was divided by a transverse partition into two smaller rooms, although
the oblong form is also common. This is noticeable in the southwestern
corner and on the eastern side of the main cluster, in the southwestern
corner and on the northern end of the cluster adjoining on the north,
and in all the smaller clusters. It is probable that the western central
part of the main cluster was the first portion of the group of
structures built, and that subsequently as the demand for accommodation
increased, owing to increase of population, the rooms on the eastern and
southern sides of the main cluster were added, while the rooms of the
older portion were divided.
There is no evidence that any portion of this cluster attained a greater
height than two stories, and only a small number of rooms reached that
height. The small cluster adjoining on the north, and those on the
southeast, southwest, and west, were built later and belong to the last
period of the occupancy of the group. The builders exhibited a decided
predilection for a flat site, as an examination of the sites of the
various room clusters in the ground plan (plate XVII) will show, and
when the sight of the main cluster became so crowded that additional
rooms could be added only by building them on the sloping hillside,
recourse was had to other sites. This tendency is also exhibited in the
cluster adjoining the main cluster on the north, which was probably the
second in point of age. The northern end of this small group of rooms
terminates at the foot of the hill which rises northeastward, while a
series of wall lines extends eastward at an angle with the lines of the
cluster, but along the curve of the hillside.
The small northern cluster was in all probability inhabited by five or
six families only, as contrasted with the main cluster, which had
sixteen or seventeen, while the smaller clusters had each only two or
three families. The strong presumption of the later building and
occupancy of the smaller clusters, previously commented on, is supported
by three other facts of importance, viz, the amount and height of the
standing wall, the character of the sites occupied, and the
extraordinary size of the rooms.
Although as a rule external appearance is an unsatisfactory criterion of
age, still, other things equal, a large amount and good height of
standing wall may be taken to indicate in a general way a more recent
period of occupancy than wall lines much obliterated and merged into the
surrounding ground level. The character of the site occupied is,
however, a very good criterion of age. It was a rule of the ancient
pueblo builder, a rule still adhered to with a certain degree of
persistence, that enlargement of a village for the purpose of obtaining
more space must be by the addition of rooms to those already built, and
not by the construction of detached rooms. So well was this rule
observed that attached rooms were often built on sites not at all
adapted to them, when much better sites were available but a short
distance away; and, although detached rooms were built in certain cases,
there was always a strong reason for such exceptions to the general
rule. At a late period in the history of the Pueblos this rule was not
so much adhered to as before, and detached houses were often built at
such points as the fancy or convenience of the builder might dictate. As
the traditions are broken down the tendency to depart from the old rule
becomes more decided, and at the present day several of the older Pueblo
villages are being gradually abandoned for the more convenient detached
dwellings, while nearly all of them have suffered more or less from this
cause.
The tendency to cluster rooms in one large compact group was undoubtedly
due primarily to hostile pressure from outside, and as this pressure
decreased the inherent inconveniences of the plan would assert
themselves and the rule would be less and less closely adhered to. It
therefore follows that, in the absence of other sufficient cause, the
presence of detached rooms or small clusters may be taken in a general
way to indicate a more recent occupancy than a ground plan of a compact,
closely built village.
The size of rooms is closely connected with the character of the site
occupied. When, owing to hostile pressure, villages were built on sites
difficult of access, and when the rooms were crowded together into
clusters in order to produce an easily defended structure, the rooms
themselves were necessarily small; but when hostile pressure from
surrounding or outside tribes became less pronounced, the
pueblo-builders consulted convenience more, and larger rooms were built.
This has occurred in many of the pueblos and in the ruins, and in a
general way a ruin consisting of large rooms is apt to be more modern
than one consisting of small rooms; and where large and small rooms
occur together there is a fair presumption that the occupancy of the
village extended over a period when hostile pressure was pronounced and
when it became less strong. It has already been shown that, owing to the
social system of the pueblo-builders, there is almost always growth in a
village, although the population may remain stationary in numbers or
even decrease; so that, until a village is abandoned it will follow the
general rule of development sketched above.
Along the southern side of Clear creek, which discharges into the Rio
Verde from the east, about 4 miles below Verde, there is a flat terrace
from 30 to 40 feet above the creek and some 2 or 3 miles in length.
Scattered over almost the whole of this terrace are remains of houses
and horticultural works, which will be described later. Near the western
end of the terrace a low hill with flat top and rounded sides rises, and
on the top of this occurs the ruin whose ground plan is shown in figure
285.
[Illustration: Plate XXIII.
GENERAL VIEW OF RUINS ON AN EMINENCE 14 MILES NORTH OF FOSSIL CREEK.]
This ruin commands an outlook over the whole extent of the terrace and
seems to have been the home pueblo with which were connected the
numerous single houses whose remains cover the terrace. The ground plan
is peculiar. The rooms were arranged in four rows, each row consisting
of a line of single rooms, and the rows were placed approximately at
right angles to one another, forming the four sides of a hollow square.
The rooms are generally oblong, of the usual dimensions, and as a rule
placed with their longer axes in the direction of the row. Several rooms
occur, however, with their longer axes placed across the row.
Thirty-eight rooms can still be traced, and there is no likelihood that
there were ever more than forty, or that any of the rooms attained a
greater height than one story. The population, therefore, was probably
never much in excess of fifty persons, or ten to twelve families.
[Illustration: Figure 285.
Ground plan of ruin on southern side of Clear creek.]
It will be noticed that the wall lines are only approximately
rectangular. The outside dimensions of the village are as follows:
Northeastern side, 203 feet; southwestern, 207 feet; southeastern, 182
feet; and northwestern, 194 feet. The northeastern and southwestern
sides are nearly equal in length, but between the southeastern and the
northwestern sides there is a difference of 12 feet, and this
notwithstanding that the room at the western end of the southeastern row
has been set out 3 feet beyond the wall line of the southwestern side.
This difference is remarkable if, as the ground plan indicates, the
village or the greater part of it was laid out and built up at one time,
and was not the result of slow growth.
As already stated, long occupancy of a village, even without increase of
population, produces a certain effect on the ground plan. This effect,
so strongly marked in all the ruins already described, is conspicuous in
this ruin by its almost entire absence. The ground plan is just such as
would be produced if a small band of pueblo builders, consisting of ten
or twelve related families, should migrate en masse to a site like the
one under discussion and, after occupying that site for a few
years--less than five--should pass on to some other location. Such
migration and abandonment of villages were by no means anomalous; on the
contrary, they constitute one of the most marked and most persistent
phenomena in the history of the pueblo builders. If the general
principles, already laid down, affecting the development and growth of
ground plans of villages are applied to this example, the hypothesis
suggested above--an incoming of people en masse and a very short
occupancy--must be accepted, for no other hypothesis will explain the
regularity of wall lines, the uniformity in size of rooms, and the
absence of attached rooms which do not follow the general plan of the
village. The latter is perhaps the most remarkable feature in the ground
plan of this village. The addition of rooms attached irregularly at
various points of the main cluster, which is necessarily consequent on
long occupancy of a site, even without increase of population, was in
this example just commenced. The result of the same process, continued
over a long period of time, can be seen in the ground plan of any of the
inhabited villages of today and in most of the ruins, while a plan like
that of the ruin under discussion, while not unknown, is rare.
[Illustration: Plate XXIV.
GENERAL VIEW OF NORTHERN END OF A GROUP OF CAVATE LODGES.]
Plate XX, which is a general view of the ruin from the southwest, shows
the character of the site and the general appearance of the debris,
while plate XXI illustrates the character of the masonry. It will be
noticed that the level of the ground inside and outside of the row of
rooms is essentially the same; in other words, there has been no filling
in. It will also be noticed that the amount of debris is small, and that
it consists principally of rounded river bowlders. The masonry was
peculiar, the walls were comparatively thin, and the lower courses were
composed of river bowlders, not dressed or otherwise treated, while the
upper courses, and presumably also the coping stones, were composed of
slabs of sandstone and of a very friable limestone. The latter has
disintegrated very much under atmospheric influences. The white areas
seen in the illustrations are composed of this disintegrated limestone.
The general appearance of the ruin at the present time must not be
accepted as its normal condition. It is probable that the débris has
undergone a process of artificial selection, the flat slabs and most
available stones for building probably having been removed by
neighboring settlers and employed in the construction of stone fences,
which are much used in this region. Even with a fair allowance for such
removal, however, there is no evidence that the rooms were higher than
one story. The quantity of potsherds scattered about the ruins is
noticeably small.
[Illustration: Figure 286.
Ground plan of ruin 8 miles north of Fossil creek.]
About 8 miles north of the mouth of Fossil creek, on the eastern side
of the Verde, there is a ruin which, though very small, is interesting.
At this point there is a long narrow mass of rock, the remains of a
volcanic dike, some 80 or 90 feet long, which at the southern end
overhangs the stream, while the other end is merged into the ground
level. At its southern end the rock is some 50 feet above the water, but
150 feet northward the dike is no longer traceable. A general view of
this dike is given in plate XXII, while the ground plan, figure 286,
shows the character of the site. There were rooms on all that portion of
the dike that stands out prominently from the ground level, and traces
of other rooms can be seen on the ground level adjoining on the north
and in the causeway resulting from the breaking down and disintegration
of the dike. Remains of eight rooms in all can be traced, five of which
were on the summit of the rock. The wall lines on the summit are still
quite distinct and in places fragments of the original walls remain, as
shown on the ground plan. The plan shows typical pueblo rooms of average
size, and the masonry, though rough, is of the same character as that of
other ruins in the vicinity.
Facility of defense undoubtedly had something to do with the choice of
this location, but that it was not the only desideratum consulted is
evident from the occurrence of a large area of fertile bottom land or
flat river terrace immediately adjoining the ruin on the east and
overlooked by it; in fact, the volcanic dike on which the ruin occurs
occupies the western end of a large semicircular area of tillable land,
such as already described. Viewed, however, as a village located with
reference to defense it is the most perfect example--facility of
obtaining water being considered--in this region. It may be used,
therefore, to illustrate an important principle governing the location
of villages of this type.
A study of the ground plan (figure 286) and the general view (plate
XXII) will readily show that while the site and character of this
village are admirably adapted for defense, so well adapted, in fact, as
to suggest that we have here a fortress or purely defensive structure,
still this adaptation arises solely from the selection of a site fitted
by nature for the purpose, or, in other words, from an accident of
environment. There has not been the slightest artificial addition to the
natural advantages of the site.
The statement may seem broad, but it is none the less true, that, so far
as our knowledge extends at the present time, fortresses or other purely
defensive structures form a type which is entirely unknown in the pueblo
region. The reason is simple; military art, as a distinct art, was
developed in a stage of culture higher than that attained by the ancient
pueblo builders. It is true that within the limits of the pueblo region
structures are found which, from their character and the character of
their sites, have been loosely described as fortresses, their describers
losing sight of the fact that the adaptability of these structures to
defense is the result of nature and not of art. Numerous examples are
found where the building of a single short wall would double the
defensive value of a site, but in the experience of the writer the
ancient builders have seldom made even that slight addition to the
natural advantages of the site they occupied.
[Illustration: Plate XXV.
MAP OF GROUP OF CAVATE LODGES IN WHITE CANYON,
3 MILES BELOW CLEAR CREEK, EAST SIDE RIO VERDE.]
The first desideratum in the minds of the old pueblo builders in
choosing the location of their habitations was nearness to some area of
tillable land. This land was generally adjacent to the site of the
village, and was almost invariably overlooked by it. In fact this
requirement was considered of far more importance than adaptability to
defense, for the latter was often sacrificed to the former. A good
example in which both requirements have been fully met is the ruin under
discussion. This, however, is the result of an exceptionally favorable
environment; as a rule the two requirements conflict with each other,
and it is always the latter requirement--adaptability to defense--which
suffers. These statements are true even of the so-called fortresses, of
the cavate lodges, of the cliff ruins, and of many of the large village
ruins scattered over the southwestern portion of the United States. In
the case of the large village ruins, however, there is another feature
of pueblo life which sometimes produces a different result, viz, the use
of outlying single houses or small clusters separated from the main
village and used for temporary abode during the farming season only.
This feature is well developed in some of the modern pueblos,
particularly in Zuñi and Acoma.
The principle illustrated by this ruin is an important one. Among the
ancient pueblo builders there was no military art, or rather the
military art was in its infancy; purely defensive structures, such as
fortresses, were unknown, and the idea of defense never reached any
greater development than the selection of an easily defended site for a
village, and seldom extended to the artificial improvement of the site.
There is another result of this lack of military knowledge not
heretofore alluded to, which will be discussed at length on some other
occasion and can only be mentioned here: this is the aggregation of a
number of small villages or clusters into the large many-storied pueblo
building, such as the modern Zuñi or Taos.
About 14 miles north of the mouth of Fossil creek, on the eastern side
of the river, there is another ruin somewhat resembling the last
described. A large red rock rises at the intersection of two washes,
about a mile back from the river, and on a bench near the summit are the
remains of walls. These are illustrated in plate XXIII. In general
appearance and in character of site this ruin strongly resembles a type
found in the San Juan region. There seem to have been only a few rooms
on the top of the rock, and the prominent wall seen in the illustration
was probably a retaining or filling wall in a cleft of the rock. Such
walls are now used among the Pueblos for the sides of trails, etc. It is
probable that at one time there were a considerable number of rooms on
the rock; the debris on the ground at the base of the rock on the
western side, shown in the illustration, is rather scanty; on the
opposite or eastern side there is more, and it is not improbable there
were rooms on the ground here. It is likely that access was from this
side.
It should be noted that this ruin, which is of a type known as
“fortress” by some writers, is so placed as to command an extensive
outlook over the large valley below and over the two small valleys
above, as well as the considerable area of flat or bottom land formed by
the junction of the small valleys. It is a type of a subordinate
agricultural settlement, and had the defensive motive been entirely
absent from the minds of the builders of this village it would
undoubtedly have been located just where it now is, as this is the best
site for an agricultural settlement for some distance up and down the
river.
[Illustration: Figure 287.
Sketch map of ruins on pinnacle 7 miles north of Fossil creek.]
[Illustration: Figure 288.
Remains of small rooms 7 miles north of Fossil creek.]
Remains of walls somewhat similar to these last described occur on a
butte or pinnacle on the eastern side of the river and about 7 miles
north of the mouth of Fossil creek. From the south this pinnacle is a
most conspicuous landmark, rising as it does some 2,500 feet above the
river within a distance of a quarter of a mile. The upper 50 feet of the
eminence consists of bare red rock split into sharp points and little
pinnacles, as shown in figure 287, which represents only the upper
portion of the butte. The heavy black lines on the sketch map are walls.
Some of these were doubtless mere retaining walls, but others are still
standing to a considerable height, and there is yet much débris on the
slope of the rock forming the eastern side of the butte near its top. It
is doubtful whether these rooms were ever used for habitations, and more
probable that they were used as a shrine or for some analogous purpose.
[Illustration: Plate XXVI.
STRATA OF NORTHERN CANYON WALL.]
Perhaps a quarter of a mile northeastward, in the saddle connecting the
butte with the contiguous hills in that direction, there are remains of
three small rooms, located east of a low swell or ridge. Figure 288
shows the general character of the site, which seems to have been a
favorite type for temporary structures, single-room outlooks, etc. Among
the fragments of pottery picked up here were pieces of polished red ware
of the southern type, and part of the bottom of a large pot of so-called
corrugated ware.
Half a mile northwestward, in a saddle similar to that last described,
and east of the crown of a hill, are the remains of a single room,
nearly square and perhaps 10 feet long. These single rooms and small
cluster remains are unusual in this region, and seem to replace the
bowlder-marked ruins so common south of the East Verde (to be described
more fully later). Although the walls of this single-room structure were
built of river bowlders, they are well marked by débris and are of the
same type as those in the ruins at the mouths of the East Verde and
Fossil creek.