Part 6

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.

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.

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]

[Footnote 43: The word _kiva_, now universally employed in place of the Spanish designation "estufa" to designate a ceremonial room of the Pueblos, is derived from the Hopi language. The designation is archaic, the element ki being both Pima and Hopi for "house." It has been sought to connect this word with a part of the human body, and esoterically the kiva represents one of the underworlds or womb of the earth from which the races of man were born. It is highly appropriate that ancient ceremonies should take place in a kiva, the symbolic representation of an underworld, for many of the ceremonies are said to have been practiced while man still lived within the Earth Mother. The word _kiva_ is restricted to subterranean chambers, rectangular or circular, in which secret ceremonies are or were held, and the term _kihu_ is suggested for ceremonial rooms above ground. The five kivas at Walpi are examples of the true kiva, while the Flute chamber may be called a _kihu_.]

[Footnote 44: The so-called "warrior room" in Spruce-tree House belongs to the second type.]

The majority of the kivas are situated in front of the secular buildings, but several are in the rear of the cave, with high rooms in front of them. The largest cluster of kivas on the cave floor lies in the so-called plaza quarter, which takes its name from the open space occupied by the kivas in that section. The rooms on the terraces, especially those near the southern end of the ruin, were covered with fallen rocks and other débris when the excavation and repair work began. The walls of most of the kivas, whether in front or in the rear, were greatly dilapidated and in all instances it was necessary to rebuild them to the level of the plazas in which the kivas are situated.

Following comparisons with modern pueblos, there is every reason to suppose that the kivas preserve the oldest types of buildings of the cliff-dweller culture, and it is believed that the form of these archaic structures is a survival of antecedent conditions. They belonged to the men of different clans, as in a measure is the case among the Hopi at the present day, with whom every kiva is spoken of as that of a certain man who is a clan chief. The male and female members of every Hopi clan have affiliation with certain kivas (a survival of archaic conditions), and in certain clan gatherings, as the dramatic exhibition which occurs in March, the celebration takes place in their respective kivas.

As the kiva is the men's room, and as religious exercises are largely controlled by men, such ceremonies occur in kivas, which are practically the ceremonial rooms.[45]

[Footnote 45: In certain ceremonies of Hopi women's societies the kiva has also come to be a meeting place for these sororities and where they erect their altars.]

KIVAS OF THE FIRST TYPE

All kivas of the first type are constructed on the same general plan, the different parts being somewhat modified by surrounding conditions. While their general form is circular or cylindrical, some are square with rounded angles, others oblong, and others more or less heart-shaped. Their diameter and height vary according to circumstances, but this type is always subterranean when possible, even though excavation in the rock may be necessary.

The walls of the kivas are sometimes double, and the masonry is generally well constructed. The walls show evidences of plastering, which is decorated in some instances with paintings or incised figures. The number of pilasters is commonly 6, but 4 and 8 are also evident; rarely, as in kiva M (the subtype), all are missing. Between these pilasters are the so-called banquettes, one of which is usually larger than the others. The banquettes are generally built 3 or 4 feet in height, consequently they could scarcely have been intended for seats.

The pilasters are commonly rectangular, sometimes square, the size being about uniform from base upward. In rare instances a pilaster has a cubby-hole[46] in one side. Where circumstances require the ventilator penetrates the rear portion of the pilaster, but the flue never enters the side of the kiva under a pilaster.

[Footnote 46: These small holes, generally square, are usually found in the wall below the banquette.]

The pilasters, which are almost universal in kivas of the first type, as has been shown in the description and illustrations of the eight kivas of Spruce-tree House, served as supports for the roof beams. These rafters of pine rested upon and served to support other logs laid one over another, so that finally the roof opening was covered. Across the middle of the walls, at the top, two long parallel logs were placed, in order to add stability to the roof structure. These beams were set far enough apart to allow a hatch midway between their ends, which served the purpose of an entrance and also permitted the escape of smoke from the fire directly below.

Over the framework of logs were laid small sticks, filling the interstices, and above these was spread a layer of cedar bark; the whole was then covered with clay, thus bringing the upper surface of the roof to the level of the adjacent plaza. Whether the kiva walls projected above the plaza and roof level is unknown, but possibly they did, and there may have been a slight elevation of the hatchway, as in the Hopi kivas. It is commonly believed that the kiva roof was level with the surrounding plaza and that the entrance was through a hatchway, but no depression or other sign of a ladder or of its resting place on the kiva floor has yet been found in any of the Mesa Verde ruins.

The floors of the kivas are commonly of hardened adobe; unlike those of the Hopi kivas they are never paved with stones, but the natural rock often serves for that purpose. It is not rare to find the surface of solid rock that forms the kiva floor cut down a few feet to a lower level. Although generally smooth, when the floor is the natural rock there are sometimes found in it small, cup-like, artificial depressions similar to those in the horizontal surfaces of the cliff or in slabs of detached rock.

The fire-pit, which is found in all kivas of the first type,[47] is a circular depression situated slightly to one side of the middle of the room. While generally lined with adobe, slabs of stone sometimes form its border, and it is also to be noted that one or two of these small stones sometimes project above the floor level. The fire-hole is sometimes deep, and is generally filled with wood ashes, indicating long use.

[Footnote 47: The fire in these rooms was more for light than for heat, for when roofed a large fire would have produced so much smoke and heat that the occupants would be driven out. The character of the ashes indicates that logs were not used as firewood, but that the prescribed kiva fuel was, as at Walpi, small twigs or brush. No evidence of lamps has been found in cliff-dwellings, the lamp-shaped pottery objects having been used for purposes other than illumination.]

Every kiva of the first type has a lateral passageway for the admission of air, opening into the chamber on the floor level, generally under the large banquette. This passage, or tunnel, here designated a flue, communicates either directly with the outside or turns upward at a right angle and forms a small vertical ventilator which opens at the level of the plaza. Between the entrance into the flue from the kiva and the fire-hole there rises from the floor a device called the deflector (sometimes called an altar), the object of which was to prevent flames and smoke being drawn into the ventilator, or to evenly circulate the inflowing fresh air in the chamber. This deflector may be (1) a low stone wall, free on both ends; (2) a curved wall connected with the kiva wall on each side with orifices to allow the passage of air; (3) a stone slab in the kiva floor; (4) a bank, free at each end, supported by upright stakes between which are woven twigs, the whole being plastered with clay.[48]

[Footnote 48: Cosmos Mindeleff quotes from Nordenskiöld a description of a Mesa Verde kiva, the deflector of which was made in the same way.]

The supposed functions of the flue, the vertical passage, and the ventilator have been discussed by several archeologists. The uses to which the flue has been ascribed are as follows: (1) a chimney, (2) a ceremonial opening, (3) an entrance, (4) a ventilator. There is no sign of smoke on the interior of the vertical passage, which, being too small to admit a person, would seem to prove the first and third theories untenable. In the Navaho National Monument, where there are square rooms, or _kihus_, with banks similar to the deflectors of the circular kivas, a door takes the place of the flue and the vertical passage, and affords the only means for admitting fresh air to the room. Although it may have originated as a simple entrance to the room, it became so modified that it could no longer have served that purpose, ceremonially or otherwise.

The position of the entrance to the Cliff Palace kiva is yet to be definitely determined. Analogy, together with the structure of the roof, would indicate that it was by means of a hatchway, but no remains of a ladder were found, and no indication in the floor where a ladder formerly rested is visible. It may be that the large banquette indicates the position of the hatchway.[49]

[Footnote 49: On this supposition the large banquette may have been the forerunner of the spectator's section in the modern rectangular Hopi kivas, of which it is a modification.]

The subterranean passageway under the flue and beneath the floor of kiva V should not be overlooked in a study of the origin and function of the ventilator. This structure is without apparent connection with the ventilator, and yet it is so carefully constructed under it that it may have had some relation, a knowledge of which will eventually enlighten us regarding the meaning of both structures.

The kivas of the Mesa Verde are much smaller than those of Walpi and other Hopi pueblos, one of them being barely 9 feet in diameter and the largest measuring not more than 19 feet, whereas the chief kiva at Walpi is 25 feet long by 15 feet wide. Evidently kivas of such diminutive size as those found at Cliff Palace could accommodate only a few at a time, and it is probable that they were not occupied by fraternities of priests but by a few chiefs; indeed, the religious fraternity, as we understand its composition in modern pueblos, had in all probability not yet been developed. Nevertheless the smallest kiva in Cliff Palace is as large as the room in Walpi in which the Sun priests, mainly of one clan, celebrate their rites.

KIVA A

Kiva A (pl. 17) is the most southerly kiva of Cliff Palace, the first of the series excavated in the talus, its roof having been on the level of the cave floor, or the fourth terrace. The walls of this kiva required little repair. Its height from the floor to the top of the walls is 8 feet 6 inches, and from the floor to the top of the pilasters 7 feet; the height of the banquette is 3 feet 6 inches. The interior diameter is 11 feet. There are six pilasters, with an average breadth of 20 inches; the distance between them averages 4 feet 6 inches.

The opening into the ventilator is situated in the southwestern wall; its height is 2 feet 4 inches, the breadth, at the base, 14 inches, contracted to 11 inches at the top. The deflector, which is broken, is a thin slab of stone. The distance from the flue opening to the deflector is 2 feet 6 inches, and from the deflector to the round fire-hole 8 inches. The diameter of the fire-hole is 1 foot 8 inches, its depth 2 feet. Its western side is lined with small stones set on edge.

There were possibly 4 niches in the side wall of the banquette, 3 of them on the east, measuring respectively 16 by 20 by 12 inches, 9 by 9 by 12 inches, and 3 by 3 by 5 inches, and the remaining one situated north by east from the middle of the kiva and measuring 6 by 4 by 8 inches.[50]

[Footnote 50: The measurements of the kivas here given were determined by Mr. R. G. Fuller, who served as voluntary assistant during the summer.]

There is a subterranean passageway (pl. 17, _b_), 6 feet 6 inches long, from this kiva into room 1, and also a tunnel (pl. 17, _a_), 6 feet in length, between kivas A and B. The former has stone steps and rises above the banquette; its width averages 18 inches.

KIVA B

Kiva B adjoins kiva A, and is the second of the terraced rooms, its roof being originally on the same level as the former. It is circular in shape, and the height from the floor to the top of the room is 9 feet 6 inches. The height of the top of the pilasters from the floor is 7 feet, and that of the banquette 3 feet 6 inches.

The inner diameter of the kiva is 13 feet 6 inches. There are 6 pilasters, averaging 2 feet in width. The position of the ventilator opening is south by west; its depth 4 feet, and height 2 feet 6 inches. The breadth of this opening at the top (it narrows somewhat at the base) is 18 inches.

The deflector[51] is a slab of stone about 3 feet 10 inches wide. The distance from the deflector to the kiva wall is 2 feet 6 inches, and from the deflector to the fire-hole 14 inches. The diameter of the fire-hole measures 2 feet, and its depth 9 inches. The distance from the ceremonial opening, or sipapû, to the fire-hole is 4 feet. The diameter of the sipapû is 4 inches and its depth the same. There are 5 niches in the kiva wall.

[Footnote 51: With the exception of that in kiva Q there has not been found in any deflector a large stone ("fire stone") forming the cap or top. In deflectors formed of a slab of stone such a "fire stone" on top would be impossible.]

The masonry of this kiva is fairly good, its western wall naturally being the most destroyed. The banquette over the tunnel into kiva A is broader than any of the others. On the eastern side the kiva walls are apparently double.