The ruins of Old Mishoñinovi lie west of the present pueblo in the
foothills, not far from the two rocky pinnacles at that point and
adjacent to a spring. In strolling over the site of the old town I
have noted its ground plan, and have picked up many sherds which
indicate that the pottery made at that place was the fine cream-color
ware for which Tusayan has always been famous. The site offers unusual
opportunities for archeological studies, but excavation there is not
practicable on account of the opposition of the chiefs.
Old Mishoñinovi was a pueblo of considerable size, and was probably
inhabited up to the close of the seventeenth century. It was probably
on this site that the early Spanish explorers found the largest pueblo
of the Middle Mesa. The ruin of Shitaimovi, in the foothills near
Mishoñinovi, mentioned by Mindeleff, was not visited by our party.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY.