The mounds at Aztec Spring (pl. 1, _b_), situated on the eastern flank
of Ute Mountain, at a site looking across the valley to the west end
of Mesa Verde, were described forty years ago by W. W. Jackson[22] and
Prof. W. H. Holmes.[23] The descriptions given by both these pioneers
are quoted at length for the reason that subsequent authors have added
little from direct observation since that time, notwithstanding they
have been constantly referred to and the illustrations reproduced.
[22] Rept. U. S. Geol. Survey Terr. (Hayden Survey) for 1874,
Washington, 1876.
[23] Op. cit.
As a result of a short visit, the author is able to add the few
following notes on the Aztec Spring mounds. The ruin is a village
consisting of a cluster of unit pueblos of the pure type in various
stages of consolidation. No excavations were made, but the surface
indications point to the conclusion that the different mounds indicate
that these pueblos have different shapes and sizes.
The author’s observations differ in several unimportant particulars
from those of previous writers, and while it is not his intention to
describe in detail the Aztec Spring village he will call attention to
certain features it shares with other villages in the Montezuma Valley.
The best, almost the only accounts of this village are the following
taken from the descriptions by Jackson and Holmes published in 1877.
Mr. Jackson gives the following description:[24]
“Immediately adjoining the spring, on the right, as
we face it from below, is the ruin of a great massive
structure [Upper House?] of some kind, about 100
feet square in exterior dimensions; a portion only
of the wall upon the northern face remaining in its
original position. The _débris_ of the ruin now
forms a great mound of crumbling rock, from 12 to 20
feet in height, overgrown with artemisia, but showing
clearly, however, its rectangular structure, adjusted
approximately to the four points of the compass. Inside
this square is a circle, about 60 feet in diameter,
deeply depressed in the center. The space between
the square and the circle appeared, upon a hasty
examination, to have been filled in solidly with a
sort of rubble-masonry. Cross-walls were noticed in
two places; but whether they were to strengthen the
walls or divided apartments could only be conjectured.
That portion of the outer wall remaining standing is
some 40 feet in length and 15 in height. The stones
were dressed to a uniform size and finish. Upon the
same level as this ruin, and extending back some
distance, were grouped line after line of foundations
and mounds, the great mass of which is of stone but
not one remaining upon another.... Below the above
group, some 200 yards distant, and communicating by
indistinct lines of _débris_, is another great
wall, inclosing a space of about 200 feet square [Lower
House?].... This better preserved portion is some 50
feet in length, 7 or 8 feet in height, and 20 feet
thick, the two exterior surfaces of well-dressed and
evenly laid courses, and the center packed in solidly
with rubble-masonry, looking entirely different from
those rooms which had been filled with _débris_,
though it is difficult to assign any reason for its
being so massively constructed.... The town built about
this spring is nearly a square mile in extent, the
larger and more enduring buildings in the center, while
all about are scattered and grouped the remnants of
smaller structures, comprising the suburbs.”
The description by Professor Holmes[25] is more detailed and
accompanied by a ground plan, and is quoted below:
[24] Op. cit., pp. 377-378.
[25] Op. cit., p. 400.
“The site of the spring I found, but without the least appearance of
water. The depression formerly occupied by it is near the center of a
large mass of ruins, similar to the group [Mud Spring village] last
described, but having a rectangular instead of a circular building as
the chief and central structure. This I have called the _upper house_
in the plate, and a large walled enclosure a little lower on the slope
I have for the sake of distinction called the _lower house_.
“These ruins form the most imposing pile of masonry yet [1875] found
in Colorado. The whole group covers an area about 480,000 square
feet, and has an average depth of from 3 to 4 feet. This would give
in the vicinity of 1,500,000 solid feet of stonework. The stone used
is chiefly of the fossiliferous limestone that outcrop along the base
of the Mesa Verde a mile or more away, and its transportation to this
place has doubtless been a great work for a people so totally without
facilities.
“The upper house is rectangular, measuring 80 feet by 100 feet, and is
built with the cardinal points to within a few degrees. The pile is
from 12 to 15 feet in height, and its massiveness suggests an original
height at least twice as great. The plan is somewhat difficult to make
out on account of the very great quantity of _débris_.
“The walls seem to have been double, with a space 7 feet between; a
number of cross-walls at regular intervals indicate that this space has
been divided into apartments, as seen in the plan.
“The walls are 26 inches thick, and are built of roughly dressed
stones, which were probably laid in mortar, as in other cases.
“The enclosed space, which is somewhat depressed, has two lines of
_débris_, probably the remains of partition-walls, separating it into
three apartments, _a_, _b_, _c_ [note]. Enclosing this great house is a
network of fallen walls, so completely reduced that none of the stones
seem to remain in place; and I am at a loss to determine whether they
mark the site of a cluster of irregular apartments, having low, loosely
built walls, or whether they are the remains of some imposing adobe
structure built after the manner of the ruined pueblos of the Rio Chaco.
“Two well-defined circular enclosures or _estufas_ [kivas] are situated
in the midst of the southern wing of the ruin. The upper one, A, is on
the opposite side of the spring from the great house, is 60 feet in
diameter, and is surrounded by a low stone wall. West of the house is a
small open court, which seems to have had a gateway opening out to the
west, through the surrounding walls.
“The lower house is 200 feet in length by 180 in width, and its walls
vary 15 degrees from the cardinal points. The northern wall, _a_, is
double and contains a row of eight apartments about 7 feet in width by
24 in length. The walls of the other sides are low, and seem to have
served simply to enclose the great court, near the center of which is a
large walled depression (_estufa_ B).”
The number of buildings that composed the Aztec Spring village (fig. 1)
when it was inhabited can not be exactly estimated, but as indicated
by the largest mound, the most important block of rooms exceeds in
size any at Mitchell Spring Ruin. While this village also covered more
ground than that at Mud Spring, it shows no evidence of added towers,
a prominent feature of the largest mound of the latter. Two sections
(fig. 1, _A_, _B_) may be distinguished in the arrangement of mounds
in the village; one may be known as the western and the other as the
eastern division.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.—Ground plan of Aztec Spring Ruin.]
The highest and most conspicuous mound of the western section (_A_)
is referred to by Professor Holmes as the “Upper House.” Surface
characteristics now indicate that this is the remains of a compact
rectangular building, with circular kivas and domiciliary rooms of
different shapes, the arrangement of which can not be determined
without extensive excavations. The plan of this pueblo published
by Holmes[26] shows two large and one small depression, indicating
peripheral rectangular chambers surrounded by walls of rectangular
rooms.
[26] Op. cit., pl. xl.
The author interprets the depressions, _K_, as kivas, but supposes
that they were not rectangular as figured by Holmes, but circular,
surrounded on all four sides by square secular chambers, the “Upper
House” being formed by the consolidation of several units of the pure
pueblo type. Although Aztec Spring Ruin is now much mutilated and its
walls difficult to trace, the surface indications, aided by comparative
studies of the rooms, show that Holmes’ “_a_,” “_b_,” and “_c_,” now
shown by depressions, are circular, subterranean kivas. They are the
same kind of chambers as the circular depressions in the mounds on
the south side of the spring. The height of the mound called “Upper
House” indicates that the building had more than one story on the
west and north sides, and that a series of rooms one story high with
accompanying circular depressions existed on the east side.
The “Upper House” is only one of several pueblos composing the western
cluster of the Aztec Spring village. Its proximity to the source of
water may in part account for its predominant size, but there are
evidences of several other mounds (_E-H_) in its neighborhood, also
remains of pueblos. Those on the north (_C_) and west sides (_E-H_) are
small and separated from it by intervals sometimes called courts. The
most extensive accumulation of rooms next the “Upper House” is situated
across the draw in which the spring lies, south of the “Upper House”
cluster already considered. The aggregation of houses near the “Upper
House” is mainly composed of low rectangular buildings among which are
recognized scattered circular depressions indicating kivas. The largest
of these buildings is indicated by the mound on the south rim of the
draw, where we can make out remains of a number of circular depressions
or kivas (_K_), as if several unit forms fused together; on the north
and west sides of the spring there are small, low mounds, unconnected,
also suggesting several similar unit forms. The most densely populated
part of the village at Aztec Spring, as indicated by the size of the
mounds clustered on the rim around the head of the draw, is above the
spring, on the northwest and south sides.
There remains to be mentioned the eastern annex (_B_) of the Aztec
Spring village, the most striking remains of which is a rectangular
inclosure called “Lower House,” situated east of the spring and lower
down the draw, or at a lower level than the section already considered.
The type of this structure, which undoubtedly belonged to the same
village, is different from that already described. It resembles a
reservoir rather than a kiva, inclosed by a low rectangular wall,
with rows of rooms on the north side. The court of the “Lower House”
measures 218 feet. The wall on the east, south, and west sides is only
a few feet high and is narrow; that on the north is broader and higher,
evidently the remains of rooms, overlooking the inclosed area.
Perhaps the most enigmatical structures in the vicinity of Aztec Spring
village are situated on a low mesa south of the mounds, a few hundred
feet away. These are circular depressions without accompanying mounds,
one of which was excavated a few years ago to the depth of 12 feet; on
the south there was discovered a well-made wall of a circular opening,
now visible, by which there was a communication through a horizontal
tunnel with the open air. The author was informed that this tunnel
is artificial and that one of the workmen crawled through it to its
opening in the side of a bank many yards distant.
No attempt was made to get the exact dimensions of the component
houses at Aztec Spring, as the walls are now concealed in the mounds,
and measurements can only be approximations if obtained from surface
indications without excavation. The sketch plan here introduced (fig.
1) is schematic, but although not claimed as accurate, may serve to
convey a better idea of the relation of the two great structures and
their annexed buildings than any previously advanced.
The author saw no ruined prehistoric village in the Montezuma Valley
that so stirred his enthusiasm to properly excavate and repair as that
at Aztec Spring,[27] notwithstanding it has been considerably dug over
for commercial purposes.
[27] Mr. Van Kleeck, of Denver, has offered this ruin to the Public
Parks Service for permanent preservation. It is proposed to rename it
the Yucca House National Monument.