Verde region, where it is a circular subterranean room with pilasters
and banquettes, ventilators and deflectors, fireplaces and ceremonial
openings, the features of which have been described elsewhere. As
we follow the San Juan down to its junction with the Colorado we
find a gradual simplification of the circular type of kiva by
the elimination of pilasters, ventilators, and other features, the
round kiva being here represented by rooms in which almost the only
architectural feature remaining is the large banquette. The question
naturally arising in this connection is, whether the circular kiva
in the eastern region is a development of that simpler form existing
in the western or whether the latter is a degenerate form of the
eastern. In other words, does the evidence show that this particular
modification spread from the east down the San Juan or from the west
up the river to the east? In this connection it may be urged that
originally the form of circular kiva lacking pilasters extended
along the entire course of the San Juan and that the kivas of the
Mesa Verde became highly specialized forms in which pilasters were
developed, while those lower down the river remained the same. We can
not definitely answer either of these questions, but taken with other
evidence it would seem that the circular form of kiva originated in the
eastern section and gradually extended westward.
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 50 PLATE 19
CLIFF-DWELLERS CRADLE—FRONT
Dimensions: length, 22 inches; breadth, 9 inches; diameter, 6 inches.]
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 50 PLATE 20
CLIFF-DWELLERS CRADLE—REAR]
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 50 PLATE 21
CLIFF-DWELLERS CRADLE—SIDE]
The modern Hopi rectangular form of ceremonial room situated
underground seems in some instances to have derived certain features
from the circular subterranean kiva.
The chief kiva at Walpi, that used by the Snake fraternity, is
rectangular and subterranean, while that used by the Flute priests,
which is practically a ceremonial room, is a chamber entered by a side
doorway. It is suggested that the Snake kiva at Walpi was derived
from the circular subterranean kiva of Tokónabi, the former home
of the Snake clan in northern Arizona, and that the Flute chamber
was developed from the rectangular rooms in the same ruins. The old
question, so often considered by Southwestern archeologists, whether
the circular subterranean kiva was derived from the rectangular or
_vice versa_, seems to the writer to be somewhat modified by the fact
that ceremonial rooms of both forms exist side by side in many ancient
cliff-dwellings. From circular subterranean kivas in some instances
developed square kivas, but the latter are sometimes the direct
development of square rooms; the determination of the original form can
best result from a study of clans and their migrations.[55]
Naturally the questions one asks in regard to these ruins are: Why
did the inhabitants build in these cliffs? Who were the ancient
inhabitants? When were these dwellings inhabited and deserted?
It is commonly believed that the caves were chosen for habitations
because they could be better defended than villages in the open. This
is a good answer to the first question, so far as it goes, although
somewhat imperfect. The ancients chose this region for their homes
on account of the constant water supply in the creek and the patches
of land in the valley that could be cultivated. This was a desirable
place for their farms. Had there been no caves in the cliffs they would
probably have built habitations in the open plain below. They may have
been harassed by marauders, but it must be borne in mind that their
enemies did not come in great numbers at any one time. Defense was
not the primary motive that led the sedentary people of this canyon
to utilize the caverns for shelter. Again, the inroads of enemies
never led to the abandonment of these great cliff-houses, if we can
impute valor in any appreciable degree to the inhabitants. Fancy, for
instance, the difficulty, or rather improbability, of a number of
nomadic warriors great enough to drive out the population of Kitsiel,
making their way up Cataract canyon and besieging the pueblo. Such an
approach would have been impossible. Marauders might have raided the
Kitsiel cornfields, but they could not have dislodged the inhabitants.
Even if they had succeeded in capturing one house but little would have
been gained, as it was a custom of the Pueblos to keep enough food in
store to last more than a year. In this connection the question is
pertinent, While hostiles were besieging Kitsiel how could they subsist
during any length of time? Only with the utmost difficulty, even with
aid of ropes and ladders, can one now gain access to some of these
ruins. How could marauding parties have entered them if the inhabitants
were hostile? The cliff-dwellings were constructed partly for defense,
but mainly for the shelter afforded by the overhanging cliff, and the
cause of their desertion was not due so much to predatory enemies as
failure of crops or the disappearance of the water supply.
The writer does not regard these ruins as of great antiquity; some
of the evidence indicates that they are of later time. Features in
their architecture show resemblances derived from other regions. The
Navaho ascribe the buildings to ancient people and say that the ruined
houses existed before their own advent in the country, but this was not
necessarily long ago. Such evidence as has been gathered supports Hopi
legends that the inhabitants were ancient Hopi belonging to the Flute,
Horn, and Snake families.
There is no evidence that cliff-house architecture developed in these
canyons, and rude structures older than these have been found in this
region. Whoever the builders of these structures were, they brought
their craft with them. The adoption of the deflector in the rectangular
ceremonial rooms called kihus implies the derivation of these rooms
from circular kivas, and all indications are that the ancient
inhabitants came from higher up San Juan river.
Many of the ruins in Canyon de Chelly situated east of Laguna creek
show marked evidence of being modern, and they in turn are not so old
as those of the Mesa Verde. If the ruins become older as we go up
the river the conclusion is logical that the migration of the San
Juan culture was down the river from east to west, rather than in the
opposite direction. The scanty traditions known to the author support
the belief in a migration from east to west, although there were
exceptional instances of clan movements in the opposite direction. The
general trend of migration would indicate that the ancestral home of
the Snake and Flute people was in Colorado and New Mexico.
[Illustration:
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BULLETIN 50 PLATE 22
SKETCH MAP
OF THE
·NAVAHO NATL·MONUMENTS·
FROM OFFICIAL REPORTS BY
W·B·DOUGLASS
U·S·GENL· LAND OFFICE
1910
]
It is evident from the facts here recorded that the ruins in the
Navaho National Monument contain most important, most characteristic,
and well-preserved prehistoric buildings, and that the problems they
present are of a nature to arouse great interest in them. Having
suffered comparatively little from vandalism, these are among the
best-preserved monuments of the cliff-dwellers’ culture in our
Southwest, and if properly excavated and repaired they would preserve
most valuable data for the future student of prehistoric man in North
America. It is not necessary to preserve all the ruins within this
area, but it would be well to explore the region and to locate the
sites of the ruins that it contains.
FOOTNOTES:
[52] The writer was not able to determine the exact site of the
traditional Tokónabi, but believes one is justified in considering the
ruins visited to be prehistoric houses of the Snake (Flute), Horn, and
other Hopi clans whose descendants now live in Walpi.
[53] While circular subterranean kivas are found in some of the ruins,
none of these have the six pilasters so common higher up on the San
Juan, nor have these rooms ventilators like those of Spruce-tree House.
Some of the ruins have rectangular kivas, above ground, entered from
one side.
[54] The best example of walls of this kind is found in an undescribed
cliff-ruin in the canyon southwest of Cliff Palace.
[55] It is generally the custom to speak of the rectangular
subterranean rooms of Walpi as kivas, while the square or rectangular
rooms above ground, in which equally secret rites are performed, are
not so designated. Both types are ceremonial rooms, but for those not
subterranean the term _kihu_ (clan ceremonial room), instead of kiva,
is appropriate.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The writer has the honor to recommend that one of the largest two
cliff-dwellings in the Navaho National Monument, either Betatakin or
Kitsiel, be excavated, repaired, and preserved as a “type ruin” to
illustrate the prehistoric culture of the aborigines of this section of
Arizona; also that this work be supplemented by excavation and repair
of Inscription House, an ancient cliff-dwelling in West canyon.
He also recommends that one or more of the ruins in West canyon be
added to the Navaho National Monument and be permanently protected by
the Government.