A Study of Pueblo Architecture: Tusayan and Cibola Part 4

That portion of the southwestern plateau country comprised in the Province of Tusayan has usually been approached from the east, so that the easternmost of the series of mesas upon which the villages are situated is called the First Mesa. The road for 30 or 40 miles before reaching this point traverses the eastern portion of the great plateau whose broken margin, farther west, furnishes the abrupt mesa-tongues upon which the villages are built. The sandstone measures of this plateau are distinguished from many others of the southwest by their neutral colors. The vegetation consisting of a scattered growth of stunted pion and cedar, interspersed with occasional stretches of dull-gray sage, imparts an effect of extreme monotony to the landscape.

The effect is in marked contrast to the warmth and play of color frequently seen elsewhere in the plateau country.

The plateaus of Tusayan are generally diversified by canyons and b.u.t.tes, whose precipitous sides break down into long ranges of rocky talus and sandy foothills. The arid character of this district is especially p.r.o.nounced about the margin of the plateau. In the immediate vicinity of the villages there are large areas that do not support a blade of gra.s.s, where barren rocks outcrop through drifts of sand or lie piled in confusion at the bases of the cliffs. The canyons that break through the margins of these mesas often have a remarkable similarity of appearance, and the consequent monotony is extremely embarra.s.sing to the traveler, the absence of running water and clearly defined drainage confusing his sense of direction.

The occasional springs which furnish scanty water supply to the inhabitants of this region are found generally at great distances apart, and there are usually but few natural indications of their location.

They often occur in obscure nooks in the canyons, reached by tortuous trails winding through the talus and foothills, or as small seeps at the foot of some mesa. The convergence of numerous Navajo trails, however, furnishes some guide to these rare water sources.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XVI. Plan of Hano.]

The series of promontories upon which the Tusayan villages are built are exceptionally rich in these seeps and springs. About the base of the First Mesa (Fig. 1), within a distance of 4 or 5 miles from the villages located upon it, there are at least five places where water can be obtained. One of these is a mere surface reservoir, but the others appear to be permanent springs. The quant.i.ty of water, however, is so small that it produces no impression on the arid and sterile effect of the surroundings, except in its immediate vicinity. Here small patches of green, standing out in strong relief against their sandy back-grounds, mark the position of cl.u.s.ters of low, stunted peach trees that have obtained a foothold on the steep sand dunes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 1. View of the First Mesa.]

In the open plains surrounding the mesa rim (6,000 feet above the sea), are seen broad stretches of dusty sage brush and p.r.i.c.kly greasewood.

Where the plain rises toward the base of the mesa a scattered growth of scrub cedar and pion begins to appear. But little of this latter growth is seen in the immediate vicinity of the villages; it is, however, the characteristic vegetation of the mesas, while, in still higher alt.i.tudes, toward the San Juan, open forests of timber are met with.

This latter country seems scarcely to have come within the ancient builders province; possibly on account of its coldness in winter and for the reason that it is open to the incursions of warlike hunting tribes. Sage brush and greasewood grow abundantly near the villages, and these curious gnarled and twisted shrubs furnish the princ.i.p.al fuel of the Tusayan.

Occasionally gra.s.sy levels are seen that for a few weeks in early summer are richly carpeted with mult.i.tudes of delicate wild flowers. The beauty of these patches of gleaming color is enhanced by contrast with the forbidding and rugged character of the surroundings; but in a very short time these blossoms disappear from the arid and parched desert that they have temporarily beautified. These beds of bloom are not seen in the immediate vicinity of the present villages, but are unexpectedly met with in portions of the neighboring mesas and canyons.

After crossing the 6 or 7 miles of comparatively level country that intervenes between the mouth of Keams Canyon and the first of the occupied mesas, the toilsome ascent begins; at first through slopes and dunes and then over ma.s.ses of broken talus, as the summit of the mesa is gradually approached. Near the top the road is flanked on one side by a very abrupt descent of broken slopes, and on the other by a precipitous rocky wall that rises 30 or 40 feet above. The road reaches the brink of the promontory by a sharp rise at a point close to the village of Hano.

METHODS OF SURVEY.

Before entering upon a description of the villages and ruins, a few words as to the preparation of the plans accompanying this paper will not be amiss. The methods pursued in making the surveys of the inhabited pueblos were essentially the same throughout. The outer wall of each separate cl.u.s.ter was run with a compa.s.s and a tape measure, the lines being closed and checked upon the corner from which the beginning was made, so that the plan of each group stands alone, and no acc.u.mulation of error is possible. The stretched tapeline afforded a basis for estimating any deviations from a straight line which the wall presented, and as each sight was plotted on the spot these deviations are all recorded on the plan, and afford an indication of the degree of accuracy with which the building was carried out. Upon the basis thus obtained, the outlines of the second stories were drawn by the aid of measurements from the numerous jogs and angles; the same process being repeated for each of the succeeding stories. The plan at this stage recorded all the stories in outline. The various houses and cl.u.s.ters were connected by compa.s.s sights and by measurements. A tracing of the outline plan was then made, on which the stories were distinguished by lines of different colors, and upon this tracing were recorded all the vertical measurements. These were generally taken at every corner, although in a long wall it was customary to make additional measurements at intervening points.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XVII. View of Hano.]

Upon the original outline were then drawn all such details as coping stones, chimneys, trapdoors, etc., the tapeline being used where necessary to establish positions. The forms of the chimneys as well as their position and size were also indicated on this drawing, which was finally tinted to distinguish the different terraces. Upon this colored sheet were located all openings. These were numbered, and at the same time described in a notebook, in which were also recorded the necessary vertical measurements, such as their height and elevation above the ground. In the same notebook the openings were also fully described. The ladders were located upon the same sheet, and were consecutively lettered and described in the notebook. This description furnishes a record of the ladder, its projection above the coping, if any, the difference in the length of its poles, the character of the tiepiece, etc. Altogether these notebooks furnish a ma.s.s of statistical data which has been of great service in the elaboration of this report and in the preparation of models. Finally, a level was carried over the whole village, and the height of each corner and jog above an a.s.sumed base was determined. A reduced tracing was then made of the plan as a basis for sketching in such details of topography, etc., as it was thought advisable to preserve.

These plans were primarily intended to be used in the construction of large scale models, and consequently recorded an amount of information that could not be reproduced upon the published drawings without causing great confusion.

The methods followed in surveying the ruins underwent some changes from time to time as the work progressed. In the earlier work the lines of the walls, so far as they could be determined, were run with a compa.s.s and tapeline and gone over with a level. Later it was found more convenient to select a number of stations and connect them by cross-sights and measurements. These points were then platted, and the walls and lines of dbris were carefully drawn in over the framework of lines thus obtained, additional measurements being taken when necessary.

The heights of standing walls were measured from both sides, and openings were located on the plan and described in a notebook, as was done in the survey of the inhabited villages. The entire site was then leveled, and from the data obtained contour lines were drawn with a 5-foot interval. Irregularities in the directions of walls were noted.

In the later plans of ruins a scale of symbols, seven in number, were employed to indicate the amount and distribution of the dbris. The plans, as published, indicate the relative amounts of dbris as seen upon the ground. Probable lines of wall are shown on the plan by dotted lines drawn through the dots which indicate dbris. With this exception, the plans show the ruins as they actually are. Standing walls, as a rule, are drawn in solid black; their heights appear on the field sheets, but could not be shown upon the published plans without confusing the drawing. The contour lines represent an interval of 5 feet; the few cases in which the secondary or negative contours are used will not produce confusion, as their alt.i.tude is always given in figures.

PLANS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF RUINS.

The ruins described in this chapter comprise but a few of those found within the province of Tusayan. These were surveyed and recorded on account of their close traditional connection with the present villages, and for the sake of the light that they might throw upon the relation of the modern pueblos to the innumerable stone buildings of unknown date so widely distributed over the southwestern plateau country. Such traditional connection with the present peoples could probably be established for many more of the ruins of this country by investigations similar to those conducted by Mr. Stephen in the Tusayan group; but this phase of the subject was not included in our work. In the search for purely architectural evidence among these ruins it must be confessed that the data have proved disappointingly meager. No trace of the numerous constructive details that interest the student of pueblo architecture in the modern villages can be seen in the low mounds of broken down masonry that remain in most of the ancient villages of Tusayan. But little masonry remains standing in even the best preserved of these ruins, and villages known to have been occupied within two centuries are not distinguishable from the remains to which distinct tradition (save that they were in the same condition when the first people of the narrators gens came to this region) no longer clings.

Though but little architectural information is to be derived from these ruins beyond such as is conveyed by the condition and character of the masonry and the general distribution of the plan, the plans and relation to the topography are recorded as forming, in connection with the traditions, a more complete account than can perhaps be obtained later.

In our study of architectural details, when a comparison is suggested between the practice at Tusayan and that of the ancient builders, our ill.u.s.trations for the latter must often be drawn from other portions of the builders territory where better preserved remains furnish the necessary data.

WALPI RUINS.

In the case of the pueblo of Walpi, a portion of whose people seem to have been the first comers in this region, a number of changes of sites have taken place, at least one of which has occurred within the historic period. Of the various sites occupied one is pointed out north of the gap on the first mesa. At the present time this site is only a low mound of sand-covered dbris with no standing fragment of wall visible. The present condition of this early Walpi is ill.u.s.trated in Fig. 2. In the absence of foundation walls or other definite lines, the character of the site is expressed by the contour lines that define its relief.

Another of the sites occupied by the Walpi is said to have been in the open valley separating the first from the second mesa, but here no trace of the remains of a stone village has been discovered. This traditional location is referred to by Mr. Stephen in his account of Walpi. The last site occupied previous to the present one on the mesa summit was on a lower bench of the first mesa promontory at its southern extremity. Here the houses are said to have been distributed over quite a large area, and occasional fragments of masonry are still seen at widely separated points; but the ground plan can not now be traced. This was the site of a Spanish mission, and some of the Tusayan point out the position formerly occupied by mission buildings, but no architectural evidence of such structures is visible. It seems to be fairly certain, however, that this was the site of Walpi at a date well within the historic period, although now literally there is not one stone upon another. The destruction in this instance has probably been more than usually complete on account of the close proximity of the succeeding pueblo, making the older remains a very convenient stone quarry for the construction of the houses on the mesa summit. Of the three abandoned sites of Walpi referred to, not one furnishes sufficient data for a suggestion of a ground plan or of the area covered.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XVIII. Plan of Sichumovi.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 2. Ruins, Old Walpi mound.]

OLD MASHONGNAVI.

In the case of Mashongnavi we have somewhat more abundant material. It will be desirable to quote a few lines of narrative from the account of a Mashongnavi Indian of the name of Nuvayauma, as indicating the causes that led to the occupation of the site ill.u.s.trated.

We turned and came to the north, meeting the Apache and Beaver Indians, with whom we had many battles, and being few we were defeated, after which we came up to Mashongnavi [the ruin at the Giants Chair] and gave that rock its name [name not known], and built our houses there. The Apache came upon us again, with the Comanche, and then we came to [Old Mashngnavi]. We lived there in peace many years, having great success with crops, and our people increased in numbers, and the Apache came in great numbers and set fire to the houses and burned our corn, which you will find to-day there burnt and charred. After they had destroyed our dwellings we came upon the mesa, and have lived here since.

The ruins referred to as having been the first occupied by the Mashongnavi at a large isolated rock known as the Giants Chair, have not been examined. The later village from which they were driven by the attacks of the Apache to their present site has been surveyed. The plan of the fallen walls and lines of dbris by which the form of much of the old pueblo can still be traced is given in Pl. II. The plan of the best preserved portion of the pueblo towards the north end of the sheet clearly indicates a general adherence to the inclosed court arrangement with about the same degree of irregularity that characterizes the modern village. Besides the clearly traceable portions of the ruin that bear such resemblance to the present village in arrangement, several small groups and cl.u.s.ters appear to have been scattered along the slope of the foothills, but in their present state of destruction it is not clear whether these cl.u.s.ters were directly connected with the princ.i.p.al group, or formed part of another village. Occasional traces of foundation walls strongly suggest such connection, although from the character of the site this intervening s.p.a.ce could hardly have been closely built over.

With the exception of the main cl.u.s.ter above described the houses occupy very broken and irregular sites. As indicated on the plan, the slope is broken by huge irregular ma.s.ses of sandstone protruding from the soil, while much of the surface is covered by scattered fragments that have fallen from neighboring pinnacles and ledges. The contours indicate the general character of the slopes over which these irregular features are disposed. The fragment of ledge shown on the north end of the plate, against which a part of the main cl.u.s.ter has been built, is a portion of a broad ma.s.sive ledge of sandstone that supports the low b.u.t.tes upon which the present villages of Mashongnavi and Shupalovi are built, and continues as a broad, level shelf of solid rock for several miles along the mesa promontory. Its continuation on the side opposite that shown in the plate may be seen in the general view of Shupaulovi (Pl. x.x.xI).

s.h.i.tAIMUVI.

The vestiges of another ruined village, known as s.h.i.taimuvi, are found in the vicinity of Mashongnavi, occupying and covering the crown of a rounded foothill on the southeast side of the mesa. No plan of this ruin could be obtained on account of the complete destruction of the walls.

No line of foundation stones even could be found, although the whole area is more or less covered with the scattered stones of former masonry. An exceptional quant.i.ty of pottery fragments is also strewn over the surface. These bear a close resemblance to the fine cla.s.s of ware characteristic of Talla Hogan or Awatubi, and would suggest that this pueblo was contemporaneous with the latter. Some reference to this ruin win be found in the traditionary material in Chapter I.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XIX. View of Sichumovi.]

AWATUBI.

The ruin of Awatubi is known to the Navajo as Talla Hogan, a term interpreted as meaning singing house and thought to refer to the chapel and mission that at one time nourished here, as described by Mr.

Stephen in Chapter I. Tradition ascribes great importance to this village. At the time of the Spanish conquest it was one of the most prosperous of the seven cities of Tusayan, and was selected as the site of a mission, a distinction shared by Walpi, which was then on a lower spur of the first mesa, and by Shumopavi, which also was built on a lower site than the present village of that name. Traditions referring to this pueblo have been collected from several sources and, while varying somewhat in less important details, they all concur in bringing the destruction of the village well within the period of Spanish occupation.

On the historical site, too, we know that Cruzate on the occasion of the attempted reconquest of the country visited this village in 1692, and the ruin must therefore be less than two centuries old, yet the completeness of destruction is such that over most of its area no standing wall is seen, and the outlines of the houses and groups are indicated mainly by low ridges and ma.s.ses of broken-down masonry, partly covered by the drifting sands. The group of rooms that forms the south east side of the pueblo is an exception to the general rule. Here fragmentary walls of rough masonry stand to a height, in some cases, of 8 feet above the dbris. The character of the stonework, as may be seen from Pl. V, is but little better than that of the modern villages. This better preserved portion of the village seems to have formed part of a cl.u.s.ter of mission buildings. At the points designated A on the ground plan may be seen the remnants of walls that have been built of straw adobe in the typical Spanish manner. These rest upon foundations of stone masonry. See Pl. VI. The adobe fragments are probably part of the church or a.s.sociated buildings. At two other points on the ground plan, both on the northeast side, low fragments of wall are still standing, as may be seen from the plate. At one of these points the remains indicate that the village was provided with a gateway near the middle of the northeast side.

The general plan of this pueblo is quite different from that of the present villages, and approaches the older types in symmetry and compactness. There is a notable absence of the arrangement of rooms into long parallel rows. This typical Tusayan feature is only slightly approximated in some subordinate rows within the court. The plan suggests that the original pueblo was built about three sides of a rectangular court, the fourth or southeast side--later occupied by the mission buildings--being left open, or protected only by a low wall.

Outside the rectangle of the main pueblo, on the northeast side, are two fragments of rude masonry, built by Navajo sheep herders. Near the west corner of the pueblo are the vestiges of two rooms, outside the pueblo proper, which seem to belong to the original construction.

Awatubi is said to have had excavated rectangular kivas, situated in the open court, similar to those used in the modern village. The people of Walpi had partly cleared out one of these chambers and used it as a depository for ceremonial plume-sticks, etc., but the Navajo came and carried off their sacred deposits, tempted probably by their market value as ethnologic specimens. No trace of these kivas was visible at the time the ruins were surveyed.

The Awatubi are said to have had sheep at the time the village was destroyed. Some of the Tusayan point out the remains of a large sheep corral near the spring, which they say was used at that time, but it is quite as likely to have been constructed for that purpose at a much later date.

HORN HOUSE.

The Horn House is so called because tradition connects this village with some of the people of the Horn phratry of the Hopituh or Tusayan. The ruin is situated on a projecting point of the mesa that forms the western flank of Jeditoh Valley, not far from where the Holbrook road to Keams Canyon ascends the brink of the mesa. The village is almost completely demolished, no fragment of standing wall remaining in place.

Its general plan and distribution are quite clearly indicated by the usual low ridges of fallen masonry partly covered by drifted sand. There is but little loose stone scattered about, the sand having filled in all the smaller irregularities.

It will be seen from the plan, Pl. VII, that the village has been built close to the edge of the mesa, following to some extent the irregularities of its outline. The mesa ruin at this point, however, is not very high, the more abrupt portion having a height of 20 or 30 feet.

Near the north end of the village the ground slopes very sharply toward the east and is rather thickly covered with the small stones of fallen masonry, though but faint vestiges of rooms remain. In plan the ruin is quite elongated, following the direction of the mesa. The houses were quite irregularly disposed, particularly in the northern portion of the ruin. But here the indications are too vague to determine whether the houses were originally built about one long court or about two or more smaller ones. The south end of the pueblo, however, still shows a well defined court bounded on all sides by clearly traceable rooms. At the extreme south end of the ruin the houses have very irregular outlines, a result of their adaptation to the topography, as may be seen in the ill.u.s.tration.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Plate XX. Plan of Walpi.]

The plan shows the position of a small group of cottonwood trees, just below the edge of the mesa and nearly opposite the center of the village. These trees indicate the proximity of water, and mark the probable site of the spring that furnished this village with at least part of its water supply.

There are many fragments of pottery on this spot, but they are not so abundant as at Awatubi.

Two partly excavated rooms were seen at this ruin, the work of some earlier visitors who hoped to discover ethnologic or other treasure.