buildings of Cliff Palace, there is good evidence of the same practice
on the mesa top. Here and there, especially in the neighborhood of the
clearings where the cliff-dwellers formerly had their farms, are round
stone inclosures, oftentimes several feet deep, in which occur great
quantities of bone ashes, fragments of pottery, and some stone objects.
The surface of the stones composing these inclosures shows the marks of
intense fire, which, taken in connection with the existence of fragments
of human bones more or less burned, indicate that the dead were cremated
in these inclosures. It is not clear, however, that the dead were not
interred before cremation, and there is reason for believing that the
bodies were dried before they were committed to the flames. The mortuary
offerings, especially pottery, seem to have been placed in the burning
places after the heat had subsided, for beautiful jars showing no action
of fire were found in some of these inclosures. The existence of
cremation among the cliff-dwellers is offered as an explanation of the
great scarcity of skeletons in their neighborhood. When it is remembered
that Cliff Palace must have had a population of several hundred, judging
from the number of the buildings, and was inhabited for several
generations, it otherwise would be strange that so few skeletons were
found. It would appear that the chiefs or the priestly class were buried
either in the ground or in the floors of the rooms, which were afterward
sealed, whereas the bodies of the poorer class, or the people generally,
were cremated. The former existence of Pueblo peoples who buried their
dead in the region between the Gila valley and Mesa Verde where the dead
were cremated is a significant fact, but further observations are
necessary before it can be interpreted. It may be that in ancient times
all the sedentary tribes practiced cremation, and that the region in
question was settled after this custom had been abandoned.
LEDGE ROOMS
In a shallow crevice in the roof of the cave on a higher level than the
roofs of the tallest houses there is a long wall, the front of
inclosures that may be called "ledge rooms."[39] Some of these rooms
have plastered walls, others are roughly laid; the latter form one side
of a court and served to shield those passing from one room to another.
On this outer wall, about midway, there is painted in white an inverted
terrace figure, which may represent a rain cloud. Attention should be
called to the resemblance in form and position of this figure to that on
an outside wall overlooking plaza C of Spruce-tree House. This series of
ledge rooms was probably entered from the roof of a building in front,
and the opening or doorway above room 66 served as such an entrance,
according to several stockmen who visited Cliff Palace in earlier days.
[Footnote 39: This type of building is believed to be the oldest in
those sections of the Southwest where cliff habitations occur.]
ENUMERATION OF THE ROOMS IN CLIFF PALACE
SECULAR ROOMS
The rooms in Cliff Palace, now numbered from 1 to 94, include all those
on the ground floor, but do not embrace the second, third, and fourth
stories nor the elevated ledge rooms secluded in the crevices of the
cave roof at a high level. Their classification by function already
having been considered, a brief enumeration by form and other characters
will be given.
[Illustration: PLATE 17
PHOTOGRAPHED BY R. G. FULLER
_a_ Tunnel to Kiva B
_b_ Passageway with steps to room 3
DETAILS OF KIVA A]
Room 1, situated at the extreme southern end, presents no striking
features except that one of its entrances is by stairs through the floor
from kiva A. Its western and northern walls are of masonry; the
remaining sides are formed by the vertical cliff.
The walls of room 2 are constructed of masonry on the northern, western,
and southern sides; the eastern side is the cliff face. As the floor of
this room is made of hardened clay laid on small sticks, it was at first
supposed that a human burial was concealed beneath, but excavation
showed no signs of an interment.
Room 3 (pl. 17) is a square inclosure between walls of other rooms. A
portion of its floor is level with that of rooms 1 and 2, but a
projecting rock forms an elevated bench on the eastern side. On the
underside of this rock there are pictographs, apparently aboriginal, one
of which has a well-known terrace form, recalling the outlines of a
T-shaped doorway and the white figures on the outer wall of the ledge
room above mentioned.
Room 4 is three stories high, without openings into adjoining rooms or
exterior entrances. Its western corner is rounded below and angular
above.
Room 5 was apparently two stories high, with a fireplace in its
southeastern corner. The foundation rests on a large rock. The
arrangement of post holes in the south and west walls of this dwelling
is exceptional, and their purpose enigmatical. There is a passage from
room 5 to the neighboring plaza, which is occupied by kiva D.
Room 6 is a small rectangular chamber, about 2 feet square and 7 feet
high; it has an entrance on the western side into room 7, and, as it
utilizes the walls of the adjacent rooms, it was doubtless built
subsequent to them. Evidences of rebuilding or secondary construction of
walls on old foundations are so numerous in this section of the ruin
that this may be the oldest part of Cliff Palace.
Rooms 7, 8, and 9 are outside rooms, the western walls of which are more
or less broken, while the front is entirely destroyed. It appears that
their connected roofs once formed a terrace overlooking kiva D on the
west. There are doorways in walls of one of these rooms, but entrance
may have been gained by means of hatchways. It was approached from plaza
B by the aid of ladders or stone steps.
Room 11, which may be called the square tower, is the only four-story
building standing in Cliff Palace, its walls reaching from the floor to
the roof of the cave. When work began on this building the whole
northwestern angle had fallen, and the remaining walls were tottering.
To prevent total destruction, the entire corner was built up from a
foundation laid on the floor level of the neighboring kiva. A small
entrance to the ground floor, or the lowest of the four rooms, is from
a banquette (10) on the western side, where there is a passageway from
this lower story of room 11 to room 12, situated in its rear. Room 12
has a good floor, and room 11 a fireplace in the southwestern corner of
the lowest room of the square tower. Almost all the beams of the higher
rooms of this tower had been taken out, leaving nothing but the holes in
the walls to indicate the former existence of floors. The beams now
connecting the walls were placed there by our workmen to serve as
staging and for tying the sides together. The second and third stories
of the square tower are also without floors. Their inner walls are
plastered a reddish color, in places whitewashed, and the third wall is
decorated with interesting paintings. In the western wall of the second
story was a small window, and portions of a large T-shaped doorway still
show on the northern wall of the third story. Split sticks support the
section of wall from the top of this doorway to the roof of the cave.
From the arrangement of its rear walls it would appear that the whole of
this tower was built subsequently to the rooms back of it, which extend
on each side, north and south. The repair of a doorway of the northern
wall was difficult, the foundation walls of the eastern and northern
corners of the tower being slabs of stone set on edge, quite inadequate
to support the lofty wall above. This insufficient foundation leads to
the belief that when the base of the square tower was constructed there
was no thought of erecting upon it the four stories that we now find.
(Pl. 12, 13_a_, 14_a_.)
Some of the rooms of the square tower bear evidence of having been
living rooms, and possibly the approaches to the upper chambers were by
ladders from the outside; otherwise the T-shaped doorway on the northern
side, above the painted room, remains unexplained.
Room 12, situated east of the square tower, has no characteristic
features, being more a passageway than a room, opening at one end into
room 13 and connecting with kiva D at the other end.
Room 13 likewise presents no distinctive features; its rear wall is
considerably blackened by smoke, and it has a large square window
opening into room 12.
A large part of the front walls of rooms 14, 16, and 24 has fallen,
having been destroyed by falling water. To obviate future destruction,
the southwestern corner of room 16 was repaired with cement, thus
preventing further harm from dripping water. Rooms 16 and 24 evidently
formed a front terrace, perhaps one story high, their rear wall being
the front wall of rooms 17 and 18.
Rooms 17 and 18 are of two stories; both are square. The upper part of
its walls shows that a portion of room 18 was formerly one story high
and that the walls were erected before those of room 17. A coping of
masonry around three walls is a feature of room 18, the construction of
which is superior to that of room 17. This room has a large front
window and two smaller openings higher up in the second story of the
western wall. The combined front walls of rooms 17 and 18 may be ranked
among the finest examples of masonry in Cliff Palace. The large
embrasures made in this wall by vandals were repaired.
[Illustration: PLATE 18
PHOTOGRAPHED BY R. G. FULLER
KIVA H, BEFORE REPAIRING]
Rooms 19 and 20 also present fine examples of masonry and were evidently
constructed before rooms 21, 22, and 23. The inner walls of room 19 were
plastered; the outer wall was left rough. Room 20 shows crude masonry;
its rear wall is the vertical cliff, and the inner surfaces of the three
remaining walls of the upper story were plastered, and painted with
yellow sand or pigment. Apparently the lower room was used as a granary,
having no entrance, except possibly through a hatchway in its roof,
which forms the floor of the room above. The presence of sticks
projecting from the walls of this room adds weight to the conclusion
that it was used for storage. There is no indication of a fireplace.
Room 22 has a stepping-stone, which may have facilitated entrance,
projecting from the wall under an opening that probably served as a
doorway.
Room 23 has a fireplace in one corner, and rooms 25, 26, and 27, which
are situated in a row, have for their rear wall the vertical face of the
cliff. Although these rooms are only one story high, the roof of the
cave slopes down low enough in the rear to form their roofs. The outer
walls were plastered, and each room was entered by a separate doorway.
Although their side walls were somewhat destroyed, they appear not to
have been intercommunicating. It is, in fact, rare to find a doorway
from one room into another on the same level, or suites of rooms
communicating with one another, but chambers one above another are
generally provided with hatchways.
Room 28 is a two-story structure of excellent masonry, with an entrance
on its southern side and a window frame of stone. Its second story
formerly opened on the western side into room 29. Not much now remains
of the plastering that once covered the inner walls of room 28, but the
interior walls of room 29 still show well-preserved plaster. Although
the latter room has excellent masonry, its southern wall, or that facing
kiva J, is entirely destroyed. The floor was so well preserved that but
little work was required to put it in good condition.
Rooms 30 to 33 are represented almost entirely by the side walls, the
front walls being more or less destroyed. Their floors lie on the same
level as those of the second terrace, and their roofs may have been
continuous with the third terrace. There is indication of a room
(unnumbered) in the southwestern corner of plaza J, and another, too
mutilated to be described, on the second terrace below it.
Room 34 is irregularly rectangular in shape; its floor is on the level
of the roof of kiva H. It has good masonry and a smoothed stone sill
with a groove cut in the upper surface for the slab that formed the
door. Its interior walls show evidences of plastering.
Room 35, situated on the same level as the kiva roof, has no window, but
there is an opening directly into kiva H. Its roof is a continuation of
that of the kiva, and has the old rafters, some still in place,
supporting a few of the flat stones which formed the upper walls. As
this chamber opens directly into the kiva, we may regard it as a
repository for kiva paraphernalia;[40] the Hopi designate a similar
chamber _Katcinakihu_, "Katcina house." On the roof of this room the
writer set in place a smooth, ovoid stone with flat base, artificially
worked. Possibly this stone was formerly used as an idol.
[Footnote 40: The Mongkiva at Walpi has such a chamber which is closed
by a door and is opened only when paraphernalia for certain ceremonies
are desired. In the Warrior House at Walpi there is a similar chamber,
ordinarily closely sealed, in which the fetishes of the Warrior Society
are kept. Masked dancers among the Pueblos are called Katcinas, and the
masks they wear would naturally be kept in a house (_kihu_) called
"Katcinakihu."]
In Hano, a pueblo on the East mesa of the Hopi, masks are kept in a
special room back of a living room, a custom common to all the Hopi.
There is no evidence that the Cliff Palace people performed masked
dances.
The most picturesque building of Cliff Palace is the round tower, room
36, perched on a high rock overlooking kivas G and H. From it the
observer may have a fine view of the entire ruin and the canyon,
especially the view down the latter, which is unsurpassed. This tower is
not unlike other towers in the San Juan and Mesa Verde regions, one of
the most perfect of which is that in Navaho canyon, repeatedly figured.
This prominent tower is built of worked stones laid in reddish mortar,
and apparently was plastered both inside and outside. It is two stories
high, but is without a floor in the upper story, or a roof. The theory
in certain quarters that this round tower formerly extended to the roof
of the cave is not accepted by the author, who believes that it was
formerly only a few feet higher than at present. The break in the upper
wall adds much to its picturesque character, which is likewise increased
by its association with neighboring buildings. The round tower has a
doorway in its lower story, and above is another smaller opening,
possibly a window. Several small peepholes are present on the western
side. The sides of this structure are symmetrical, its walls slanting
gradually inward from the base upward, and its vertical lines curving
slightly on the western side. (Pl. 4_a_, 11.)
Room 37 is a well-preserved room with a metataki, or grinding bin, in
the middle.
While rooms 38 and 39 appear to be living rooms, they present no special
peculiarities. The northern wall of room 39 was wholly undermined and
tottering when the work of repair was commenced, so that its foundations
had to be built up from the floor of kiva M. To make this difficult
repair work effective it was necessary to enlarge the base of the wall,
making the side of kiva M curve slightly inward and thereby insuring a
good foundation.
[Illustration: PLATE 19
PHOTOGRAPHED BY F. K. VREELAND
SOUTHEASTERN WALL OF KIVA Q, BEFORE REPAIRING]
The walls of rooms 41 and 42 are well preserved; the top of the cave
served as the roof. These rooms were entered from the plaza containing
kiva M. In room 42 a stepping-stone is set in the outer wall below the
doorway, the object being to facilitate entrance. It is said that this
room, the roof of which shows signs of smoke, was occupied by campers
while engaged in rifling the ruin of its contents.
The cluster of rooms numbered 43 to 45 have well-constructed walls, but
they have been considerably mutilated. Pegs from which, no doubt,
objects were formerly hung, project from the smoothly plastered interior
walls of one of these rooms.
Rooms 47 and 48 show the holes of floor joists, so placed as to indicate
two stories. These rooms form the southern side of the court, which
extends from the main plaza of the settlement to the round rooms at the
northern extremity. In front of room 50 there is a low platform from
which one steps into the room through an entrance situated about midway
of its length.
Room 51 has a very well preserved fireplace in the northwestern corner
and a doorway about midway in the northern wall. Its well-plastered
walls show impressions of the hands and fingers of the plasterers.
The eastern side of the "street"[41] is bordered by rooms 60 to 63,
inclusive, which open into it. In the wall of the last room (61) to the
south there is a small peephole that enabled the owners to see from
within the room anyone entering the street from the court. Room 59,
probably the largest angular room in Cliff Palace, is without an
entrance. Its high walls form a part of the northern and eastern ends of
the court and almost the whole western side of the street. A large
embrasure in its southern wall had been repaired by the ancient masons
before Cliff Palace was deserted. North of room 59 remains of the
foundations of rooms (not numbered on the plan) were found, and it may
be possible that at this point there was a small open space, without a
kiva; if so, it would have been exceptional in Cliff Palace.
[Footnote 41: A passage or inclosure surrounded by high walls is called
kisombi by the Hopi.]
Rooms 66 and 68 are round rooms, not kivas, although possibly ceremonial
in character. From the roof of room 66, the walls of which are now lower
than formerly, it was possible to pass on a level into one of the series
of ledge rooms previously described. The floor of room 68 is exceptional
in being lower than that of the cave outside, so that on entering it
one descends by a step or two. Room 67 appears to have been more a
passageway (_kisombi_) than a room, a step from it leading down to the
level of the triangular plaza in front of the Speaker-chief's House,
south of room 70.
Room 70 is a milling room, with two well-preserved metatakis in one
corner, each with a set of metates. In the wall above these mealing
troughs there is a small window through which the women engaged in
grinding corn could see the passers through the court east of this room.
The opposite corner is occupied by a fireplace, and the adjacent wall is
pierced by a doorway with elevated threshold, through which one passed
from the milling room to the broad Speaker-chief's platform south of
rooms 71 and 72.
The inclosed space west of rooms 71 and 73 is separated from the rear of
the cave by a high wall which shuts off entrance on this side. The
series of rooms numbered 71 to 74, and the two rooms west of these,
form, with the banquette and the neighboring plaza, what is here
arbitrarily designated the Speaker-chief's House, the walls of which
consist of some of the finest masonry in Cliff Palace. It is protected
on the western side by a high, well-plastered wall extending southward
from the corner of room 72, so placed as to shield the plaza from storms
from this side. The banquette south of rooms 72 and 73 is also finely
plastered, and is approached from the plaza by a single step. This
banquette probably was designed for the use of the Speaker-chief, but a
similar structure on the eastern side of the plaza quarter served
another purpose.
The masonry, the doors and windows, and other structural features of the
Speaker-chief's House are the best in Cliff Palace. Lintels, jambs, and
door and window sills are of smooth-dressed stones and project beyond
the wall. The rear rooms of this cluster extend to the roof of the cave,
being three stories high, while those in front are two stories in
height. The line of holes shown in plate 15 indicates the former
position of rafters, but all signs of woodwork have disappeared from
this section of the ruin.
On the western side of the Speaker-chief's House are two rooms, 79 and
80, likewise well built. The former has a banquette extending across the
eastern side, and the latter is triangular in shape, with the exterior
side rounded. The foundations of these rooms rest upon a large rock that
has settled and cracked, the crack extending vertically into the walls,
showing that it has developed since the wall was constructed.
The inclosures 76 to 78, extending to the cave roof, are more like
granaries for the storage of corn. They are built of flat stone slabs
placed on edge, and rest on bowlders that have fallen from the cave
roof, which is here lower than in the middle part of the cavern. Of
these inclosures, 78 is the best preserved, all holes in its angles
being skillfully closed with adobe mortar, so that even now if the
door were replaced it would be almost rat proof. The door opening is
square, and is situated at the western side. There is no adequate
evidence that these rooms served as turkey houses, as some have
interpreted them.
[Illustration: PLATE 20
AX WITH ORIGINAL HANDLE]
The rear walls of rooms 89 and 90 are well preserved, but those in front
have been completely destroyed. The former has a banquette like that of
the Speaker-chief's House. The walls of rooms situated north and east of
kiva U, now reduced in height, formerly extended to the roof of the
cave, which is here somewhat lower than in the middle of the cavern. The
existence of these former walls is indicated by light bands on the
smoke-covered surface of the cave roof, and fragments of clay still
adhering to the side of the cliff show that the walls here were two and
three stories high.
In rooms 84, 85, and 86 the builder took advantage of the cliff for rear
walls. The middle of the floor of 84 has a depression lined with
vertical slabs of stone, evidently a fireplace, as it contained a
quantity of wood ashes. In the floor on the eastern side of this
fireplace there is a short trench also lined with stone and containing
wood ashes, the relation of which to the other inclosure is unknown. It
appears that this exceptional structure was not used in the same way as
the fireplaces so constantly met with in other rooms, but that it might
have been used for baking paper-bread, called _piki_ by the Hopi. In a
corner of room 91 there is another depression, half under the floor,
covered with a flat stone, that appears quite likely to have been used
for this purpose. Unlike the fireplaces sunken in the floor, the one in
room 84 is partially or wholly above the floor, its confining stones
being several inches above the floor level.
Room 92 is the best example of a milling room in Cliff Palace. It has
four grinding bins, or metatakis, arranged side by side, with all the
parts entire and in working condition. When excavation was begun in this
part of the ruin these structures were wholly concealed under fallen
rocks. As streams of water from a vertical cleft in the cliff poured
down upon them after exposure during periods of rain, it was necessary
to construct a roof to protect them.[42] The discovery of this and of
other grinding rooms shows that the cliff-house metatakis are the same
in structure as those in the Hopi pueblos. In an inclosure south of
these metatakis was found a granary. Fragments of walls projecting from
the cliff west of room 93 show the former existence of rooms in this
section, but as their front walls have been obliterated by the downpour
of water their form is obscure.
[Footnote 42: On the top of the rock that forms the foundation of the
walls of these rooms, and south of them, are hollows or grooves where
the metates were ground, and shallow pits used in some prehistoric game.
There are similar pits in some of the kiva floors.]
KIVAS
There are in Cliff Palace 23 ceremonial rooms that may be called
kivas.[43] These consist of two types: (1) generally circular or
cylindrical subterranean rooms, with pilasters to support the roof, and
with fireplace, deflector, and ventilator. (2) Circular or rectangular
rooms with rounded corners, without pilasters, fireplace, or deflector.
In the first group may be placed provisionally a subtype (kiva M, for
example), without pilasters but with a single large banquette. As this
subtype is the dominant one in the western part of the San Juan
drainage, it may be necessary later to regard it as a type. As a rule
rooms of the second type are not subterranean, but are commonly
surrounded by high walls, being entered by a doorway at one side. There
are 20 rooms pertaining to the first type and three to the second type
in Cliff Palace.[44]