Jesse Walter Fewkes

“ Manifestly, the purpose of a national monument is the preservation of important objects contained therein, and a primary object of archeological work should be to attract to it as many visitors and students as possible. As the country in which the Navaho National Monument is situated is one of the least known parts of Arizona, first place will be given to a brief account of one of the routes by which the important ruins included in the reserve may be reached. ”

“ A study of Arizona ruins reveals no rooms identified as ceremonial that are isolated from the house masses. This is true of cliff-dwellings and pueblos, and it is probable that the differentiation and separation of kivas from secular houses, found in modern Hopi pueblos, are an introduced feature of comparatively late date. At Zuñi a rectangular room, not separated from the house mass, serves as a kiva, the custom in this respect approaching more closely that found among their kindred, the ancient people of the Little Colorado river, than among the more modified Hopi of the present time. ”

“ The present population of Walpi, a Hopi pueblo, is made up of descendants of various clans, whose ancestors once lived in distant villages, now ruins, situated in various directions from its site on the East mesa. One of the problems before the student of the Pueblos is to locate accurately the ancestral villages where these clans lived in prehistoric times. From an examination of the architecture of these villages and a study of the character of secular and cult objects found in them, the culture of the clans that inhabited these dwellings could be roughly determined. ”

“ The ancient builders in the Navaho Monument region utilized the vertical faces as supports for walls of rooms on one or more sides. In some cases the face of the cliff forms the rear walls; in others a side wall and the rear wall of a room are formed by vertical cleavage planes at right angles, as shown in plate 9. It can be seen that adjacent houses built upon fallen rocks of different heights, the vertical faces being utilized as rear walls, would seem to stand one above another, or, in other words, they would present the well-known terrace form which exists in some modern pueblos. ”

“ 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. ”

“ There are no towers or round rooms such as those that lend picturesqueness to several of the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings. Few of the rooms are more than two stories high, the appearance of terraced rooms being given by the varying heights of their foundations. The masonry is crude, the lines are irregular, and the external faces of the walls vertical. The interior wall was probably plastered, and some walls afford good evidence that their exterior was formerly covered with mud.
A marked feature of ruins in this region is the adobe walls supported by rows of stakes with interwoven sticks. ”

“ The climb to the ruin from the place where horses must be abandoned is not a hard one and a trail could easily be made; in fact a carriage road might be constructed at small expense from Marsh pass to within half a mile of this great ruin, one of the largest two and best preserved cliff-dwellings in the Navaho National Monument. ”

“ The circular kivas commonly do not form a part of the house mass, being separated some distance from the secular rooms. From all that can be learned it appears that the round kiva is an ancient type, its position in the rear of the cave in such cliff-dwellings as Spruce-tree House and Cliff Palace indicating that this form is as old as the building itself. The circular type, with pilasters, is confined wholly to the eastern region, having been reported from the Mesa Verde, the San Juan and many of its tributaries, Chaco [Pg 24] canyon, and certain ruins west of the Rio Grande. ”

“ When there is water a rich mantle of grass—a boon to travelers in this dusty land—covers the plain, making an attractive camping place. This stretch of the road, not more than 20 miles in length, is fairly good and easily traversed by wagons.
After leaving Bekishibito, the road to Marsh pass, although on the whole not bad, becomes more and more obscure. The traveler now enters the region of ruins, and passes several mounds indicating former habitations, some of which still have standing walls. ”

“ South of Marsh pass circular kivas are less abundant, and it appears that somewhere in this region is a line of demarcation between ruins with circular kivas and those with rectangular kivas. In prehistoric ruins from Marsh pass southward [43] to the Gila valley no rooms have ever been identified as kivas, although in the cavate ruins called Old Caves, near Flagstaff, are subterranean rooms entered from the floor of a room above, which may have served for the performance of religious rites. ”

“ Lower down the river at the Great Falls are other ruins, but these likewise are ascribed to southern clans. The cluster of stone buildings near the Black Falls conforms in position and direction from Walpi to Hopi legends of the site of Wukóki, the Great Houses built by Snake clans before they went to Walpi. In their migration from Tokónabi, probably the Snake people tarried here and built houses, and then went on to the Bear settlements or the Hopi pueblos, where their descendants now live. ”

“ The first ruin of considerable size that was visited is situated to the left of and somewhat distant from the road, a few miles west and south of Marsh pass. As this ruin (pl. 4) [21] stands on an elevation, it is visible for a considerable distance across the valley, especially to one approaching it from the southwest. The standing walls rise in places to a height of 10 feet, showing indications of two stories, some of the rafters in places still projecting beyond the face of the wall. The two walls highest and most prominent are parallel, inclosing a long room or court ”

“ 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. ”

“ The great cliff-dwellings are found high up in the red sandstone on the left.
Cliff-House B
This picturesque ruin occupies the whole floor of a narrow, low cave situated in an almost vertical cliff forming one side of a canyon which extends deep into the mountain; the entrance is between low hills on the left, where the road ascends to Marsh pass. The [Pg 11] ruin can be seen for a long distance, but as one approaches the canyon in which it lies the site is hidden by foothills. ”

“ Edgar L. Hewett, director of the School of American Archæology of the Archæological Institute of America. A party [7] from the University of Utah, under direction of Prof. Byron Cummings, has dug extensively in the ruins and obtained a considerable collection.
The sites of several ruins in the Navaho National Monument, [8] which was created on his recommendation, have been indicated by Mr. William B. Douglass, United States Examiner of Surveys, General Land Office, on a map accompanying the President’s proclamation, and also on a recent map issued by the General Land Office. ”

“ Fragments of fallen rocks present good plane surfaces for walls of masonry, and there is abundant clay for plastering. Trees suitable for rafters and beams are not wanting. In short, all conditions are favorable for stone and adobe houses in the cliffs. The neighboring Sethlagini mesa is of different geological formation; in it are no caverns, the mesa top is broad, and ruins thereon are necessarily [Pg 31] open pueblos. The effect of difference in geological structure is nowhere more evident than in these adjacent formations.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 50 PLATE 18
a. ”

“ The fragments of pottery in this vicinity are not unlike those found at the Black Falls ruins, and the masonry of the ruin is almost identical in character. At the time of the writer’s visit there was a pool of water, not very inviting even to horses, a few hundred feet from this ancient habitation. Numerous sheep pasturing in the neighborhood befoul this pool, so that it can not be depended on to supply the needs of either men or horses. ”

“ Janus [18] has cemented a small basin above the highest level of the flood, into which always flows pure water. The road from the river to Moenkopi wash passes through a region where there is very little wood for camping and no water. The distance from Flagstaff to Tuba, about 90 miles, may be traveled in two days by taking the midday meal of the first day at Indian Tanks and camping the first night at Halfway House, where there is water for horses. ”

“ The writer approached this ruin by following the fallen débris at the end, where the rooms, being without covering and exposed to the elements, are most dilapidated. Over this fallen mass one makes his way with difficulty and is often in danger of falling from the cliff. On account of the perpendicular face of the cliff below the foundations of the other end of the ruin, it is impossible to climb into it, except from this side. ”

“ There is good drinking water in West canyon, where may be found also small areas of pasturage owned by a few Navaho who inhabit this region. The trail by which one descends from the rim of West canyon to the valley is steep and difficult. ”

“ Fragments of pottery were picked up on the surface at Betatakin, Kitsiel, and several other ruins, and the most characteristic of these were brought back to Washington. No excavations were attempted, nor could all objects that were seen be brought away. Although up to within a few years these ruins were practically in the condition they were when abandoned, unfortunately of late they have been despoiled and many beautiful specimens have been taken from them. Many objects still remain which should be removed lest they fall into improper hands. ”

“ Several pools of water, reduced to little more than mudholes, are found along the road, but a constant supply of potable water is found at the sand hills in the Black mesa opposite the butte called by the Navaho Saunee, 30 to 40 miles distant from Cow Spring. ”

“ Several walls in these rooms are in good condition, but the fronts of many are broken down. Here are found rows of sticks or supports projecting from the débris. The walls are almost invariably of stone; those supported by sticks are usually connecting walls. The roofs of some of these rooms are entire, but many are broken, although their rafters still remain in place.
The whole length of Betatakin is not far from 600 feet, following the foundations from one end to the other. There are not far from 100 rooms visible, and evidences of others covered with débris. ”

“ The circular form, confined to the eastern Pueblo area, bears evidence of having been derived from the culture of a people inhabiting a forested region; while the rectangular form strongly suggests a people with a treeless habitat. Both circular and rectangular subterranean assembly rooms existed in aboriginal California in historic and prehistoric times. ”

“ In their neighborhood are the foundations of other walls, and the ground in the vicinity is strewn with many fragments of pottery and much fallen masonry half buried in débris. Farther down the hill, [Pg 12] on the level of the road and extending parallel with it, are low ridges or mounds covered with pottery, indicating the former presence of a pueblo of considerable size. No walls were traced in these mounds, which seem to indicate the existence of an ancient cemetery, as several rings of small stones, suggesting graves, were found. ”

“ A few notes made on the latter trip on ruins not observed during the former are incorporated in this report.
[2] The exact situation of Tokónabi has never been identified by archeologists. Ruins are called by the Navaho nasazi bogondi, “houses of the nasazi.” The name Tokónabi may be derived from Navaho to, “water;” ko, contraction of bokho, “canyon;” and the Hopi locative obi, “place of.” The derivation from Navaho boko, “coal oil,” is rejected, since it is very modern.
[3] See A Study of Pueblo Architecture, Tusayan and Cibola, in Eighth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. ”