Once the Indian family had selected a cave, they did very little to
enlarge it. Most of the cliff cavities are rather shallow and extend
back into the cliff no more than 10 to 12 feet. The cliff dwellers
closed these cavities with masonry walls and partitioned off the rooms.
Walls were constructed from rough chunks of limestone gathered wherever
found. Apparently there were no quarries. The stones were laid up to
form a double wall with the straight faces turned to the outside and the
center filled with rubble. Mud was used for both mortar and plaster; in
fact most of the mortar and plaster seen in the cliff dwellings today
were produced by the Indian builders. Because of humus and foreign
matter in the soil there is little suitable material on the canyon
ledges. However, a layer of clay is found about 100 feet above the
stream bed. This, when pulverized and mixed with water, would produce a
satisfactory mortar and plaster.
[Illustration: (after Colton)
_Door of a Cliff Dwelling Showing Smoke Hole_]
The rooms vary in size, according to the amount of space available, with
an average of about 170 square feet of floor space. The outer wall was
set back far enough under the ledge so that rain water running down the
cliff would drip outside the wall. The floors were made from hard-packed
clay used in sufficient quantity to produce a fairly level surface. Some
rooms examined in 1948 were found to have as many as 10 thin layers,
none of which exceeded three-eighths of an inch in thickness. Each layer
was separated from the other by accumulations of ash and household
refuse. The impression is gained that it was easier to lay a new floor
than it was to sweep. The back of the cave was sometimes higher than the
front, and often was floored separately to form a slightly raised
platform or bench.
[Illustration: (after Colton)
_Section of Cliff Dwelling_]
Little wood was used in the construction of a home, since the cave
shelter had a solid rock roof. There were pole lintels over the doors,
and apparently a few pegs were set into the walls for supporting
garments or other paraphernalia.
Construction tools included stone axes, hammers, and picks. In those
tools that were hafted, a groove was made three-fourths of the way
around the stone to retain a stick bent in the shape of the letter "J"
and lashed to form a handle.