Chapter II: Part 2

The floors of the rooms are all smoothly plastered and, although purposely broken through in places by those in search of specimens, are otherwise in fairly good condition. In one of the rooms at the left of the main court is a small round hole at the bottom of a concave depression like a fireplace, the use of which is not known. Many of the floors sound hollow when struck, but this fact is not an indication of the presence of cavities below. In tiers of rooms that rise above the first story the roof of one room forms the floor of the room above it. Wherever roofs still remain they are found to be well constructed (pl. 9) and to resemble those of the old Hopi houses. In Spruce-tree House the roofs are supported by timbers laid from one wall to another; these in turn support crossbeams on which were placed layers of cedar bark covered with a thick coating of mud. In several roofs hatchways are still to be seen, but in most cases entrances are at the sides. One second-story room has a fireplace constructed like those on the ground floor or on the roof. Several fireplaces were found on the roofs of buildings one story high.

The largest slabs of stone used in the construction of the rooms of Spruce-tree House were generally made into lintels and thresholds. The latter surfaces were often worn smooth by those crawling through the opening and in some cases they show grooves for the insertion of the door slabs. Although the sides of the door are often upright slabs of stone these may be replaced by boards set in adobe plaster. Similar split boards often form lintels.

The door was apparently a flat stone set in an adobe casing on the inside of the frame where it was held in position by a stick. Each end of this stick was inserted into an eyelet made of bent osiers firmly set in the wall. Many of these broken eyelets can still be seen in the doorways and one or two are still entire. A slab of stone closing one of the doorways is still in place.

KIVAS

There are eight circular subterranean rooms identified as ceremonial rooms, or _kivas_, in Spruce-tree House (pls. 12, 13). Beginning on the north these kivas are designated by letters A-H. When excavation began small depressions full of fallen stones, with here and there a stone buttress projecting out of the débris, were the only indications of the sites of these important chambers. The walls of kiva H were the most dilapidated and the most obscured of all, the central portion of the front wall of rooms 62 and 63 having fallen into this chamber; added to the débris were the high walls of the round room, no. 69. Kiva G is the best-preserved kiva and kiva A the most exceptional in construction. Kiva B, never seen by previous investigators, was in poor condition, its walls being almost completely broken down. Part of the wall of kiva A is double (pl. 13), indicating a circular room built inside another room the shape of which inclines to oval, the former utilizing a portion of the wall of the latter. This kiva is also exceptional in being surrounded on three sides by rooms, the fourth side being the wall of the cavern. From several considerations the author regards this as the oldest kiva in Spruce-tree House.

The typical structure of a Spruce-tree House kiva is as follows: Its form is circular or oval; the site is subterranean, the roof being level with the floor of the surrounding plaza. (Pls. 13-15.) Two walls, an outer and an inner, inclose the room, the latter forming the lower part. Upon the top of this lower wall rest six pedestals, which support the roof beams; the outer wall braces these pedestals on one side. The spaces between these pedestals form recesses in which the floors extend a few feet above the floor of the room.

The floor of the kiva is generally plastered, but in some cases is solid rock. The fireplace is a circular depression in the floor, its purpose being indicated by the wood ashes found therein. Its lining is ordinarily made of clay, which in some instances is replaced by stones set on edge.

The other important opening in the floor is one called _sipapû_, or symbolic opening into the underworld. This is generally situated near the center of the room, opposite the fireplace. This opening into the underworld is barely large enough to admit the human hand and extends only about a foot below the floor surface. It is commonly single, but in one kiva two of these orifices were detected. A similar symbolic opening occurs in modern Hopi kivas, as has been repeatedly described in the author’s accounts of pueblo ceremonials. An important structure of a Spruce-tree House kiva is an upright slab of rock, or a narrow thin wall of masonry, placed between the fireplace and the wall of the kiva. This object, sometimes called an altar, serves as a deflector, its function being to distribute the air which enters the kiva at the floor level through a vertical shaft, or ventilator. Every kiva has at least one such deflector, a single fireplace, and the sipapû, or ceremonial opening mentioned above.

Several small cubby-holes, or receptacles for paint or small ceremonial objects, generally occur in the lower walls of the kiva. In addition to these there exist openings ample in size to admit the human body, which serve different purposes. The first kind communicate directly with passageways through which one can pass from the kiva into a neighboring room or plaza. Such a passageway in kiva E has steps near the opening in the floor of room 35. This entrance is not believed, however, to be the only way by which one could enter or leave this room, but was a private passage, the main entrance being through the roof. Another lateral passageway is found in kiva D, where there is an opening in the south wall communicating with the open air by means of an exit in the floor of room 26; another opening is found in the wall on the east side. Kiva C has a lateral opening communicating with a vertical passageway which opens in the middle of the neighboring plaza. In addition to lateral openings all kivas without exception have others that serve as ventilators, as before mentioned, by which air is introduced on the floor level of the kivas. The opening of this kind communicates through a horizontal passage with a vertical flue which finds its way outside the room on a level with the roof. In cases where the kiva is situated near the front wall these ventilators open through this wall by means of square apertures. All ventilator openings are in the west wall except that of kiva A, which is the only one that has rooms on that side.

The construction of kiva roofs must have been a difficult problem (pls. 14, 15). The beams (L-1 to L-4) are supported by the six pedestals (C) which stand upon the banquettes (A), and in turn are supported by the outer wall (B) of the kiva. On top of each of these pedestals is inserted a short stick (H) that served as a peg on which the inmates hung their ceremonial paraphernalia. The supports of the roof were cedar logs cut in suitable lengths by stone axes. Three logs were laid, connecting adjacent pedestals upon which they rested. These logs, which were large enough to support considerable weight, had been stripped of their bark. Upon these six beams were laid an equal number of beams, spanning the intervals between those first placed, as shown in the illustration (pl. 15). Upon the last-mentioned beams were still other logs extending across the kiva, as also shown in the plate.

The main weight of the roof was supported by two large logs which extended diametrically across the kiva from one wall to the wall opposite; they were placed a short distance apart, parallel with each other. The distance between these logs determines the width of the doorway, two sides of which they form. The other two sides are formed by two beams (L-4) of moderate size, laid across these logs, the space between them and the two beams being filled in with other logs, forming a compact framework. No nails are necessary in a roof constructed in this way.

The smaller interstices between the logs were filled in with small sticks and twigs, thus preventing soil from dropping into the room. Over the supports of the roof was spread a layer of cedar bark (M) covered with mud (N), laid deep enough to bring the top of the roof to the level of the plaza in which the kiva is situated.

No kiva was found in which the plastering of the walls was supported by sticks, as sometimes occurs here, according to Nordenskiöld, and in one or more of the Hopi kivas. The plastering of the walls was placed directly on the masonry.

It is probable that the kiva walls were painted with various devices before their roofs fell in and other mutilation of the walls took place. Among these designs parallel lines in white were common. Similar lines are still made with meal on kiva walls in Hopi ceremonies, as the author has often described. One of the pedestals of kiva A is decorated with a triangular figure on the margin of the dado, to which reference will be made later.

The author has found no conclusive answer to the question why the kivas are built under ground and are circular in form. He believes both conditions to be survivals of ancient “pit-houses,” or subterranean dwellings of an antecedent people. In this explanation the kiva is regarded as the oldest form of building in the cliff-dwellings. We have the authority of observation bearing on this point. Pit-dwellings are recorded from several ruins. In a recent work Dr. Walter Hough figures and describes certain dwellings of subterranean character that are sometimes found in clusters,[15] while the present author has observed subterranean rooms so situated as to leave no doubt of their great antiquity.[16]

The form of the kiva is characteristic and may be used as a basis of classification of pueblo culture. The people whose kivas are circular inhabited villages now ruins in the valley of the San Juan and its tributaries, in Chelly canyon, Chaco canyon, and on the western plateau of the Rio Grande.

The rectangular kiva is a structure altogether different from a round kiva, morphologically, genetically, and geographically. It is peculiar to the southern and western pueblo area, and while of later growth, should not be regarded as an evolution from the circular kiva. Several authors have found in circular kivas survivals of nomadic architectural conditions, while the position of these rooms, in nearly every instance in front of the other rooms of the cliff-dwelling, has led others to accept the theory that they were later additions to the village, which should be ascribed to a different race. It would seem that this hypothesis hardly conforms to facts, as some kivas have secular rooms in front of them which show evidences of later construction. The strongest objection to the theory that kivas are modified houses of nomads is the style of roof construction.

KIVA A

This room (pl. 13), which is the most northerly of all of the ceremonial rooms of Spruce-tree House, is, the author believes, the oldest. In construction this is a remarkable chamber. It is built directly under the cliff, which forms part of its walls. In addition to its site the remarkable features are its double walls, and its floor on the level of the roofs of the other kivas. Although this kiva is not naturally subterranean, the earth and walls built up around it make it to all intents below the surface of the ground.

It appears from the arrangement of walls and banquettes that there is here presented an example of one room constructed inside of another, the inner room utilizing for its wall a portion of the outer. The inner room is more nearly circular than the outer in which it was subsequently built. In this inner room as in other kivas there are six banquettes, and the same number of pedestals to support the roof. Three of these pedestals are common to both rooms. The floor of this room shows nothing peculiar. It has a fire hole, a sipapû, and a deflector, or low wall between the fire hole and the entrance into the horizontal passageway of the ventilator. The ventilator itself opens just outside the west wall through a passageway, the walls of which stand on the wall of a neighboring room. No plaza of any considerable size surrounded the top of this kiva.

In order to get an idea as to how many rectangular rooms naturally accompany a single kiva, the author examined the ground plans of such cliff-dwellings as are known to have but one circular kiva, the majority of these being in the Chelly canyon. While it was not possible to determine the point satisfactorily, it was found that in several instances the circular kiva lies in the middle of several rooms, a fact which would seem to indicate that it was built first and that the square rooms were added later. Several clusters of rooms, each cluster having one kiva, closely resemble kiva A and its surroundings, in both form and structure.

KIVA B

The walls of this subterranean room had escaped all previous observers. They are very much dilapidated, being wholly concealed when work of excavation began. A large old cedar tree growing in the middle of this room led the author to abandon its complete excavation, which promised little return either in enlarging our knowledge of the ground plan of Spruce-tree House or in shedding additional light on the culture of its prehistoric inhabitants.

KIVAS C AND D

The two kivas, C and D, the roofs of which form the greater part of plaza C, logically belong together in our consideration. One of these rooms, C, was roofed over by the author, who followed as a model the roofs of the two kivas of the House with the Square Tower (Peabody House); the other shows a few log supports of an original roof—the only Spruce-tree House kiva of which this is true.

Not only was the roof of the kiva restored but its walls were well repaired, so that it now presents all the essential features of an ancient kiva. On one of the banquettes of this room the author found a vase which was evidently a receptacle for pigments or other ceremonial paraphernalia.

Kiva D has a passageway leading into room 26 and a second opening in the west wall on the floor level, besides a ventilator of the type common to all kivas. The top of the opening in the west wall appears covered with a flat stone in one of the photographic views (plate 11).

The wall in front of the village in the neighborhood of kivas C and D was wholly concealed by débris when work was begun on this part of the ruin. Excavation of this débris showed that opposite each kiva there was an opening with which the ventilator is believed formerly to have been connected. There seems to have been a low-storied house, possibly a cooking-place, provided with a roof, in an interval between kivas C and D; in the floor of the plaza at this point a well-made fire hole was uncovered.

KIVA E

Kiva E is one of the finest which was excavated, showing all the typical structures of these characteristic rooms; it almost fills the plaza in which it is situated. The exceptional feature of this room is a passageway through the west wall. Room 35 may have been the house of a chief or of a priest who kept in it his masks or other ceremonial paraphernalia. A similar opening in the wall of one of the Hopi kivas communicates with a dark room in which are kept altars and other ceremonial objects. When such a passageway into a dark chamber is not in use it is closed by a slab of stone.

KIVA F

Kiva F might be designated the Spruce-tree kiva from the large spruce tree that formerly grew near its outer wall. Its stump is now visible, but the tree lies extended in the canyon.

The walls of this kiva were poorly preserved, and only two of the pedestals were in place. The walls were repaired and the roof restored. This room is situated outside the walls, and in that respect recalls kiva B, described above. The ventilator opening of this kiva is situated on the south instead of on the west side of the room, as is the rule in other kivas. The large size of this room would indicate that it was of great importance in the religious ceremonials of the prehistoric inhabitants of Spruce-tree House, but all indications point to its late construction.[17]

KIVA G

Kiva G was so well preserved that its walls were thoroughly restored; it now stands as typical of one of these rooms in which the several characteristic features may be seen. For the guidance of visitors, letters or numbers accompanied by explanatory labels were painted by the author on the walls of the kiva.

Kiva G lies just below and in front of the round tower of Spruce-tree House, which is situated in the neighborhood of the main court, and may therefore be looked on as one of the most important kivas in the cliff-dwelling.[18] The solid stone floor of this room had been cut down about 8 inches.

KIVA H

Kiva H, the largest in Spruce-tree House, contained some of the best specimens excavated by the author. Its shape is oval rather than circular, and it fills the whole space inclosed by walls of rooms on three sides. In the neighborhood of kiva H is a comparatively spacious plaza which is bounded on the front by a low wall, now repaired, and on the other sides are high rooms. The plaza containing this kiva was ample for ceremonial dances which undoubtedly formerly occurred in it. The walls of kiva H formerly had a marked pinkish color, showing no sign of blackening by smoke except in places. Charred roof beams were excavated at one place, however, and charcoal occurred deep under the débris that filled this room.

CIRCULAR ROOMS OTHER THAN KIVAS

There are two rooms (nos. 54, 69) of circular shape in Spruce-tree House, one of which resembles the “tower” in the Cliff Palace. This room (no. 54) is situated to the right hand of the main court above referred to, into which it projects without attachment except on one side. Its walls have two small windows or openings which have been called doorways, and are of a single story in height. This tower was apparently ceremonial in character.

It is instructive to mention that remains of a fire hole containing wood ashes occur in the floor on one side of this room, and that the walls are pierced with several small holes opening at an angle. Only foundations remain of the other circular room. It was situated on the south side of the open space containing kiva H and formed a bastion at the north end of the front wall. The floor of this room was wholly covered with fallen débris and its ground plan was wholly concealed when the excavations began; it was only with considerable difficulty that the foundation walls could be traced.

CEREMONIAL ROOM OTHER THAN KIVA

While the circular subterranean rooms above mentioned are believed to be the most common ceremonial chambers, there are others in the cliff-dwellings which were undoubtedly used for similar purposes. One of these, designated room 12, adjoins the mortuary room (11) and opens on the plaza C, D. In some respects the form of this room is similar to an “estufa of singular construction” described and figured in Nordenskiöld’s account of Cliff Palace. Certain distinctive characters of this room separate it on one side from a kiva and on the other from a dwelling. In the first place, it lacks the circular form and subterranean site. The six pedestals which universally support the roofs are likewise absent. In fact they are not needed because in this room the top of the cave serves as the roof. A bank extends around three sides of the room, the fourth side being the perpendicular wall of the cliff. In the southeast corner is an opening, which recalls that in the “estufa of singular construction” described by Nordenskiöld.[19]

MORTUARY ROOM

Room 9 may be designated a mortuary room from the fact that at least four human skeletons and accompanying offerings have been found in its floor. Three of those, excavated several years ago, were said to have been infants; the skull of one of these was figured and described by Prof. G. Retzius, in Nordenskiöld’s memoir. The skeleton found by the author was that of an adult and was accompanied by mortuary offerings. The skull and some of the larger bones were well preserved.[20] Evidently the doorway of this room had been walled up and there are indications that the burials took place at intervals, the last occurring before the desertion of the village.

The presence of burials in the floors of rooms in Spruce-tree House was to be expected, as the practice of thus disposing of the dead was known from other ruins of the Park, but it has not been pointed out that we have in this region good evidence of several successive interments in the same room. The existence of this intramural burial room in the south end of the ruin is one of the facts that can be adduced pointing to the conclusion that this part of the ruin is very old.

SMALL LEDGE-HOUSES

Not far from the Spruce-tree House, situated in the same canyon, there are small one-room houses perched on narrow ledges situated generally a little higher than the cave containing the main ruin. Although it is difficult to enter some of these houses, members of the author’s party visited all of them, and two of the workmen slept in a small ledge-house on the west side of the canyon. Except in rare cases these smaller houses can not be considered dwellings; they may have been used for storage, although it is more than likely that they were resorted to by priests when they wished to pray for rain or to perform certain ceremonies. The ledge-houses form a distinct type of ruin; they are rarely multiple-chambered and therefore are not capacious enough for more than one family.

STAIRWAYS

There are two or three old stairway trails in the neighborhood of Spruce-tree House. These consist of a succession of holes for hands and feet, or of a series of pits cut in the face of the cliff at convenient distances. One of these ancient trails is situated on the west side of the canyon not far from the modern trail to the spring; the other lies on the east side a few feet north of the ruin. Both of these trails were appropriately labeled for the convenience of future visitors. There is still another ancient trail along the east canyon wall south of the ruin. Although all these trails are somewhat obscure, it is hoped that they can be readily found by means of the labels posted near them.

REFUSE-HEAPS

In the rear of the buildings are two large open spaces which, from their positions relative to the main street, may be called the northern and southern refuse-heaps. They merit more than passing consideration. The former, being the larger, has not yet been thoroughly cleared out, although pretty well dug over before the repair work was begun. The author completely cleared out the southern refuse-heap and excavated to its floor.[21]

The southern recess opens directly into the main street and is flooded with light. Its floor is covered with large fragments of rock that have fallen from the cliff above. The spaces between these bowlders were filled with débris and the bowlders themselves were covered with the same accumulations the removal of which was no small task.

MINOR ANTIQUITIES

The rooms and refuse-heaps of Spruce-tree House had been pretty thoroughly ransacked for specimens by those who preceded the author, so that few minor antiquities were expected to come to light in the excavation and repair work. Notwithstanding this, however, a fair collection, containing some unique specimens and many representative objects, was made, and is now in the National Museum where it will be preserved and be accessible to all students. Considering the fact that most of the specimens previously abstracted from this ruin have been scattered in all directions and are now in many hands, it is doubtful whether a collection of any considerable size from Spruce-tree House exists in any other public museum. In order to render this account more comprehensive, references are made in the following pages to objects from Spruce-tree House elsewhere described, now in other collections. These references, quoted from Nordenskiöld, the only writer on this subject, are as follows:

Plate XVIII: 2. a and b. Strongly flattened cranium of a child.
Found in a room in Sprucetree House.

Plate XXXIV: 4. Stone axe of porphyrite. Sprucetree House.

Plate XXXV: 2. Rough-hewn stone axe of quartzite. Sprucetree House.

Plate XXXIX: 6. Implement of black slate. Form peculiar (see the
text). Found in Sprucetree House.

[In the text the last-mentioned specimen is again referred to, as
follows:]

I have still to mention a number of stone implements the use of
which is unknown to me, first some large (15-30 cm.), flat, and
rather thick stones of irregular shape and much worn at the edges
(Pl. XXXIX: 4, 5), second a singular object consisting of a thin
slab of black slate, and presenting the appearance shown in Pl.
XXXIX: 6. My collection contains only one such implement, but among
the objects in Wetherill’s possession I saw several. They are all
of exactly the same shape and of almost the same size. I cannot
say in what manner this slab of slate was employed. Perhaps it is
a last for the plaiting of sandals or the cutting of moccasins. In
size it corresponds pretty nearly to the foot of an adult.

Plate XL: 5. Several _ulnæ_ and _radii_ of birds (turkeys) tied
on a buckskin string and probably used as an amulet. Found in
Sprucetree House.

Plate XLIII: 6. Bundle of 19 sticks of hard wood, probably employed
in some kind of knitting or crochet work. The pins are pointed at
one end, blunt at the other, and black with wear. They are held
together by a narrow band of yucca. Found in Sprucetree House.

Plate XLIV: 2. Similar to the preceding basket, but smaller. Found
in Sprucetree House....

[The “preceding basket” is thus described in explanation of the
figure (Pl. XLIV: 1):] Basket of woven yucca in two different
colors, a neat pattern being thus attained. The strips of yucca
running in a vertical direction are of the natural yellowish brown,
the others (in horizontal direction) darker....

Plate XLV: 1(95) and 2(663): Small baskets of yucca, of plain
colour and of handsomely plaited pattern. Found: 1 in ruin 9, 2 in
Sprucetree House.

Plate XLVIII: 4(674). Mat of plaited reeds, originally 1.2 × 1.2
m., but damaged in transportation. Found in Sprucetree House.

It appears from the foregoing that the following specimens have been described and figured by Nordenskiöld, from Spruce-tree House: (1) A child’s skull; (2) 2 stone axes; (3) a slab of black slate; (4) several bird bones used for amulet; (5) bundle of sticks; (6) 2 small baskets; (7) a plaited mat.

In addition to the specimens above referred to, the majority of which are duplicated in the author’s collection, no objects from Spruce-tree House are known to have been described or figured elsewhere, so that there are embraced in the present account practically all printed references to known material from this ruin. But there is no doubt that other specimens as yet unmentioned in print still exist in public collections in Colorado, and later these also may be described and figured. From the nature of the author’s excavations and method of collecting, little hope remains that additional specimens may be obtained from rooms in Spruce-tree House, but the northern refuse-heap situated at the back of the cavern may yet yield a few good objects. This still awaits complete scientific excavation.

The author’s collection from Spruce-tree House, the choice specimens of which are now in the National Museum, numbers several hundred objects. All the duplicates and heavy specimens, about equal in number to the lighter ones, were left at the ruin where they are available for future study. These are mostly stone mauls, metates and large grinding implements, and broken bowls and vases. The absence from Spruce-tree House of certain characteristic objects widely distributed among Southwestern ruins is regarded as worthy of comment. It will be noticed in looking over the author’s collection that there are no specimens of marine shells, or of turquoise ornaments or obsidian flakes, from the excavations made at Spruce-tree House. This fact is significant, meaning either that the former inhabitants of this village were ignorant of these objects or that the excavators failed to find what may have existed. The author accepts the former explanation, that these objects were not in use by the inhabitants of Spruce-tree House, their ignorance of them having been due mainly to their restricted commercial dealings with their neighbors.

Obsidian, one of the rarest stones in the cliff-dwellings of the Mesa Verde, as a rule is characteristic of very old ruins and occurs in those having kivas of the round type, to the south and west of that place.

It is said that turquoise has been found in the Mesa Verde ruins. The author has seen a beautiful bird mosaic with inlaid turquoise from one of the ruins near Cortez in Montezuma valley. This specimen is made of hematite with turquoise eyes and neckband of the same material; the feathers are represented by stripes of inlaid turquoise. Also inlaid in turquoise in the back is an hourglass figure, recalling designs drawn in outline on ancient pottery.

The absence of bracelets, armlets, and finger rings of sea shells, objects so numerous in the ruins along the Little Colorado and the Gila, may be explained by lack of trade, due to culture isolation. The people of Mesa Verde appear not to have come in contact with tribes who traded these shells, consequently they never obtained them. The absence of culture connection in this direction tells in favor of the theory that the ancestors of the Mesa Verde people did not come from the southwest or the west, where shells are so abundant. Although not proving much either way by itself, this theory, when taken with other facts which admit of the same interpretation, is significant. The inhabitants of Spruce-tree House (the same is true of the other Mesa Verde people) had an extremely narrow mental horizon. They obtained little in trade from their neighbors and were quite unconscious of the extent of the culture of which they were representatives.

POTTERY

The women of Spruce-tree House were expert potters and decorated their wares in a simple but artistic manner. Until we have more material it would be gratuitous to assume that the ceramic art objects of all the Mesa Verde ruins are identical in texture, colors, and symbolism, and the only way to determine how great are the variations, if any, would be to make an accurate comparative study of pottery from different localities. Thus far the quantity of material available does not justify comparison even of the ruins of this mesa, but there is a good beginning of a collection from Spruce-tree House. The custom of placing in graves offerings of food for the dead has preserved several good bowls, and although whole pieces are rare fragments are found in abundance. Eighteen earthenware vessels, including those repaired and restored from fragments, rewarded the author’s excavations at Spruce-tree House. Some of these vessels bear a rare and beautiful symbolism which is quite different from that known from Arizona. The few plates (16-20) here given to illustrate these symbols are offered more as a basis for future study and comparisons than as an exhaustive representation of ceramics from one ruin.

The number and variety of pieces of pottery figured from the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings have not been great. An examination of Nordenskiöld’s memoir reveals the fact that he represents about 50 specimens of pottery; several of these were obtained by purchase, and others came from Chelly canyon, the pottery of which is strikingly like that of Mesa Verde. The majority of specimens obtained by Nordenskiöld’s excavations were from Step House, not a single ceramic object from Spruce-tree House being figured. So far as the author can ascertain, the ceramic specimens here considered are the first representatives of this art from Spruce-tree House that have been described or figured, but there may be many other specimens from this locality awaiting description and it is to be hoped that some day these may be made known to the scientific world.

FORMS

Every form of pottery represented by Nordenskiöld, with the exception of that which he styles a “lamp-shaped” vessel and of certain platter forms with indentations, occurs in the collection here considered.

Nordenskiöld figures a jar provided with a lid, both sides of which are shown.[22] It would seem that this lid (fig. 1),[23] unlike those provided with knobs, found by the author, had two holes near the center. The decoration on the top of the lid of one of the author’s specimens resembles that figured by Nordenskiöld, but other specimens differ from his as shown in figure 1. The specimens having raised lips and lids are perforated in the edges of the openings, with one or more holes for strings or handles. As bowls of this form are found in sacred rooms they would seem to have been connected with worship. The author believes that they served the same purposes as the netted gourds of the Hopi. Most of the ceramic objects in Spruce-tree House were in fragments when found.[24] Some of these objects have been repaired and it is remarkable that so much good material for the study of the symbolism has been obtained in this way.

Black-and-white ware is the most common and the characteristic painted pottery, but fragmentary specimens of a reddish ware occur. One peculiarity in the lips of food bowls from Spruce-tree House (pls. 16-18) is that their rims are flat, instead of rounded as in more western prehistoric ruins, like Sikyatki. Food bowls are rarely concave at the base.

No fragments of glazed pottery were found, although the surfaces of some species were very smooth and glossy from constant rubbing with smoothing stones. Several pieces of pottery were unequally fired, so that a vitreous mass, or blotch, was evident on one side. Smooth vessels and those made of coiled ware, which were covered with soot from fires, were evidently used in cooking.

Several specimens showed evidences of having been broken and afterwards mended by the owners (fig. 2); holes were drilled near the line of fracture and the two parts tied together; even the yucca strings still remain in the holes, showing where fragments were united. In figure 3 there is represented a fragment of a handle of an amphora on which is tied a tightly-woven cord.

Not a very great variety of pottery forms was brought to light in the operations at Spruce-tree House. Those that were found are essentially the types common throughout the Southwest, and may be classified as follows: (1) Large jars, or ollas; (2) flat food bowls; (3) cups and mugs; (4) ladles or dippers (fig. 4); (5) canteens; (6) globular bowls. An exceptional form is a globular bowl with a raised lip like a sugar bowl (pl. 19, _f_). This form is never seen in other prehistoric ruins.

STRUCTURE

Classified by structure, the pottery found in the Spruce-tree House ruin falls into two groups, coiled ware and smooth ware, the latter either with or without decoration. The white ware has black decorations.

The bases of the mugs (pl. 19) from Spruce-tree House, like those from other Mesa Verde ruins, have a greater diameter than the lips. These mugs are tall and their handles are of generous size. One of the mugs found in this ruin has a =T=-shaped hole in its handle (fig. 5), recalling in this particular a mug collected in 1895 by the author at Awatobi, a Hopi ruin.

The most beautiful specimen of canteen found at Spruce-tree House is here shown in plate 20.

The coiled ware of Spruce-tree House, as of all the Mesa Verde ruins, is somewhat finer than the coiled ware of Sikyatki. Although no complete specimen was found, many fragments were collected, some of which are of great size. This kind of ware was apparently the most abundant and also the most fragile. As a rule these vessels show marks of fire, soot, or smoke on the outside, and were evidently used as cooking vessels. On account of their fragile character they could not have been used for carrying water, for, with one or two exceptions, they would not be equal to the strain. In decoration of coiled ware the women of Spruce-tree House resorted to an ingenious modification of the coils, making triangular figures, spirals, or crosses in relief, which were usually affixed to the necks of the vessels.

The symbolism on the pottery of Spruce-tree House is essentially that of a cliff-dwelling culture, being simple in general characters. Although it has many affinities with the archaic symbols of the Pueblos, it has not the same complexity. The reason for this can be readily traced to that same environmental influence which caused the communities to seek the cliffs for protection. The very isolation of the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings prevented the influx of new ideas and consequently the adoption of new symbols to represent them. Secure in their cliffs, the inhabitants were not subject to the invasion of strange clans nor could new customs be introduced, so that conservatism ruled their art as well as their life in general. Only simple symbols were present because there was no outside stimulus or competition to make them complex.

On classification of Spruce-tree House pottery according to technique, irrespective of its form, two divisions appear: (1) Coiled ware showing the coils externally, and (2) smooth ware with or without decorations. Structurally both divisions are the same, although their outward appearance is different.

The smooth ware may be decorated with incised lines or pits, but is painted often in one color. All the decorated vessels obtained by the author at Spruce-tree House belong to what is called black-and-white ware, by which is meant pottery having a thin white slip covering the whole surface upon which black pictures are painted. Occasionally fragments of a reddish brown cup were found, while red ware bearing white decorative figures was recovered from the Mesa Verde; but none of these are ascribed to Spruce-tree House or were collected by the author. The general geographical distribution of this black-and-white ware, not taking into account sporadic examples, is about the same as that of the circular kivas, but it is also found where circular kivas are unknown, as in the upper part of the valley of the Little Colorado.

The black-and-white ware of modern pueblos, as Zuñi and Hano, the latter the Tewan pueblo among the Hopi, is of late introduction from the Rio Grande; prehistoric Zuñi ware is unlike that of modern Zuñi, being practically identical in character with that of the other ancient pueblos of the Little Colorado and its tributaries.

DECORATION

As a rule, the decoration on pottery from Spruce-tree House is simple, being composed mainly of geometrical patterns. Life forms are rare, when present consisting chiefly of birds or rude figures of mammals painted on the outside of food bowls (fig. 6). The geometrical figures are principally rectilinear, there being a great paucity of spirals and curved lines. The tendency to arrange rows of dots along straight lines is marked in Mesa Verde pottery and occurs also in dados of house walls. There are many examples of stepped or terraced figures which are so arranged in pairs that the spaces between the terraces form zigzag bands, as shown in figure 7. A band extending from the upper left hand, to the lower right hand, angle of the rectangle that incloses the two terraced figures, may be designated a sinistral, and when at right angles a dextral, terraced figure (fig. 8). Specimens from Spruce-tree House show considerable modification in these two types.

With exception of the terrace the triangle (fig. 9) is possibly the most common geometrical decoration on Spruce-tree House pottery. Most of the triangles may be bases of terraced figures, for by cutting notches on the longer sides of these triangles, sinistral or dextral stepped figures (as the case may be) result.

The triangles may be placed in a row, united in hourglass forms, or distributed in other ways. These triangles may be equilateral or one of the angles may be very acute. Although the possibilities of triangle combinations are almost innumerable the different forms can be readily recognized. The dot is a common form of decoration, and parallel lines also are much used. Many bowls are decorated with hachure, and with line ornaments mostly rectilinear.

The volute plays a part, although not a conspicuous one, in Spruce-tree House pottery decoration. Simple volutes are of two kinds, one in which the figure-coils follow the direction of the hands of the clock (dextral); the other, in which they take an opposite direction (sinistral). The outer end of the volute may terminate in a triangle or other figure, which may be notched, serrated, or otherwise modified. A compound sinistral volute is one which is sinistral until it reaches the center, when it turns into a dextral volute extending to the periphery. The compound dextral volute is exactly the reverse of the last-mentioned, starting as dextral and ending as sinistral. If, as frequently happens, there is a break in the lines at the middle, the figure may be called a broken compound volute. Two volutes having different axes are known as a composite volute, sinistral or dextral as the case may be.

The meander (fig. 10) is also important in Spruce-tree House or Mesa Verde pottery decoration. The form of meander homologous to the volute may be classified in the same terms as the volute, into (1) simple sinistral meander; (2) simple dextral meander; (3) compound sinistral meander; (4) compound dextral meander; and (5) composite meander. These meanders, like the volutes, may be accompanied by parallel lines or by rows of dots enlarged, serrated, notched, or otherwise modified.

In some beautiful specimens a form of hachure, or combination of many parallel lines with spirals and meanders, is introduced in a very effective way. This kind of decoration is very rare on old Hopi (Sikyatki) pottery, but is common on late Zuñi and Hano ceramics, both of which are probably derived from the Rio Grande region.

Lines, straight or zigzag, constitute important elements in Spruce-tree House pottery decoration. These may be either parallel, or crossed so as to form reticulated areas.

Along these lines rows of dots or of triangular enlargements may be introduced. The latter may be simply serrations, dentations, or triangles of considerable size, sometimes bent over, resembling pointed bands.

Curved figures are rarely used, but such as are found are characteristic. Concentric rings, with or without central dots, are not uncommon.

Rectangles apparently follow the same general rules as circles, and are also sometimes simple, with or without central dots.

The triangle is much more common as a decorative motive than the circle or the rectangle, variety being brought about by the difference in length of the sides. The hourglass formed by two triangles with one angle of each united is common. The quail’s-head design, or triangle having two parallel marks on an extension at one angle, is not as common as on Little Colorado pottery and that from the Gila valley.

As in all ceramics from the San Juan area, the stepped figures are most abundant. There are two types of stepped figures, the sinistral and the dextral, according as the steps pass from left to right or vice versa. The color of the two stepped figures may be black, or one or both may have secondary ornamentation in forms of hachure or network. One may be solid black, the other filled in with lines.

In addition to the above-mentioned geometrical figures, the S-shaped design is common; when doubled, this forms the cross called swastika. The S figure is of course generally curved but may be angular, in which case the cross is more evident. One bowl has the S figure on the outside. All of the above-mentioned designs admit of variations and two or more are often combined in Spruce-tree House pottery, which is practically the same in type as that of the whole Mesa Verde region.

CERAMIC AREAS

While it is yet too early in our study of prehistoric pueblo culture to make or define subcultural areas, it is possible to recognize provisionally certain areas having features in common, which differ from other areas.[25] It has already been shown that the form of the subterranean ceremonial room can be used as a basis of classification. If pottery symbols are taken as the basis, it will be found that there are at least two great subsections in the pueblo country coinciding with the two divisions recognized as the result of study of the form of sacred rooms—the northeastern and the southwestern region or, for brevity, the northern and the southern area. In the former region lie, besides the Mesa Verde and the San Juan valley, Chaco and Chelly canyons; in the latter, the ruins of “great houses” along the Gila and Salt rivers.

From these two centers radiated in ancient times two types of pottery symbols expressive of two distinct cultures, each ceremonially distinct and, architecturally speaking, characteristic. The line of junction of the influences of these two subcultural areas practically follows the Little Colorado river, the valley of which is the site of a third ceramic subculture area; this is mixed, being related on one side to the northern, on the other to the southern, region. The course of this river and its tributaries has determined a trail of migration, which in turn has spread this intermingled ceramic art far and wide. The geographical features of the Little Colorado basin have prevented the evolution of characteristic ceramic culture in any part of the region.

Using color and symbolism of pottery as a basis of classification, the author has provisionally divided the sedentary people of the Southwest into the following divisions, or has recognized the following ceramic areas: (1) Hopi area, including the wonderful ware of Sikyatki, Awatobi, and the ruins on Antelope mesa, at old Mishongnovi, Shumopavi and neighboring ruins; (2) Casa Grande area; (3) San Juan area, including Mesa Verde, Chaco canyon, Chelly canyon as far west as St. George, Utah, and Navaho mountain, Arizona; (4) Little Colorado area, including Zuñi. The pottery of Casas Grandes in Chihuahua is allied in colors but not in symbols to old Hopi ware. So little is known of the old Piros ceramics and of the pottery from all ruins east of the Rio Grande, that they are not yet classified. The ceramics from the region west of the Rio Grande are related to the San Juan and Chaco areas.

The Spruce-tree House pottery belongs to the San Juan area, having some resemblance and relationship to that from the lower course of the Little Colorado. It is markedly different from the pottery of the Hopi area and has only the most distant resemblance to that from Casas Grandes.[26]

HOPI AREA

The Hopi area is well distinguished by specialized symbols which are not duplicated elsewhere in the pueblo area. Among these may be mentioned the symbol for the feather, and a band representing the sky with design of a mythic bird attached. As almost all pueblo symbols, ancient and modern, are represented on old Hopi ware, and in addition other designs peculiar to it, the logical conclusion is that these Hopi symbols are specialized in origin.

The evolution of a ceramic area in the neighborhood of the modern Hopi mesas is due to special causes, and points to a long residence in that locality. It would seem from traditions that the earliest Hopi people came from the east, and that the development of a purely Hopi ceramic culture in the region now occupied by this people took place before any great change due to southern immigration had occurred. The entrance of Patki and other clans from the south strongly affected the old Hopi culture, which was purest in Sikyatki, but even there it remained distinctive. The advent of the eastern clans in large numbers after the great rebellion in 1680, especially of the Tanoan families about 1710, radically changed the symbolism, making modern Hopi ware completely eastern in this respect. The old symbolism, the germ of which was eastern, as shown by the characters employed, almost completely vanished, being replaced by an introduced symbolism.

In order scientifically to appreciate the bearing on the migration of clans, of symbolism on pottery, we must bear in mind that a radical difference in such symbolism as has taken place at the Hopi villages may have occurred elsewhere as well, although there is no evidence of a change of this kind having occurred at Spruce-tree House.

The author includes under Hopi ware that found at the Hopi ruins Sikyatki, Shumopavi, and Awatobi, the collection from the first-named being typical. Some confusion has been introduced by others into the study of old Hopi ware by including in it, under the name “Tusayan pottery,” the white-and-black ware of the Chelly canyon.[27] There is a close resemblance between the pottery of Chelly canyon and that of Mesa Verde, but only the most distant relationship between true Hopi ware and that of Chelly canyon. The latter belong in fact to two distinct areas, and differ in color, symbolism, and general characters. In so far as the Hopi ware shares its symbolism with the other geographical areas of the eastern region, to the same extent there is kinship in culture. In more distant ruins the pottery contains a greater admixture of symbols foreign to Mesa Verde. These differences are due no doubt to incorporation of other clans.

The subceramic area in which the Mesa Verde ruins lie embraces the valleys of the San Juan and its tributaries, Chelly canyon, Chaco canyon, and probably the ruins along the Rio Grande, on both sides of the river. Whether the Chaco or the Mesa Verde region is the geographical center of this subarea, or not, can not be determined, but the indications are that the Mesa Verde is on its northern border. Along the southwestern and western borders the culture of this area mingles with that of the subcultural area adjoining on the south, the resultant symbolism being consequently more complex. The ceramic ware of ruins of the Mesa Verde is little affected by outside and diverse influences, while, on the contrary, similar ware found along the western and southern borders of the subcultural area has been much modified by the influence of the neighboring region.

LITTLE COLORADO AREA

Although the decoration on pottery from Spruce-tree House embraces some symbols in common with that of the ruins along the Little Colorado, including prehistoric Zuñi, there is evidence of a mingling of the two ceramic types which is believed to have originated in the Gila basin. The resemblance in the pottery of these regions is greater near the sources of the Little Colorado, differences increasing as one descends the river. At Homolobi (near Winslow) and Chevlon, where the pottery is half northern and half southern in type, these differences have almost disappeared.

This is what might be expected theoretically, and is in accordance with legends of the Hopi, for the Little Colorado ruins are more modern than the round-kiva culture of Chaco canyon and Mesa Verde, and than the square-ceremonial-house culture of the Gila. The indications are that symbolism of the Little Colorado ruins is a composite, representative in about equal proportions of the two subcultures of the Southwest.[28]

As confirmatory of this suggested dual origin we find that the symbolism of pottery from ruins near the source of the Little Colorado is identical with that of the Salt, the Verde, and the Tonto basins, from which their inhabitants originally came in larger numbers than from the Rio Grande. In the ruins of the upper Salt and Gila the pottery is more like that of the neighboring sources of the Little Colorado because of interchanges. On the other hand, the ancient Hopi, being more isolated than other Pueblos, especially those on the Little Colorado, developed a ceramic art peculiar to themselves. Their pottery is different from that of the Little Colorado, the upper Gila and its tributary, the Salt, and the San Juan including the Mesa Verde.