Prehistoric villages, castles, and towers of southwestern Colorado - Jesse Walter Fewkes

In the same way we may suppose that in a consolidation of a community dwelling several units may have drawn together and united. There is evidence of a union of this kind in many ruins in the Southwest.

The data here published should not be interpreted to mean that the author regards the builders of the towers and great houses here described as evidences of a race other than the Indians. Indeed he believes that in both blood and culture they have left survivals among the modern Pueblos. He also does not hold that as a whole they necessarily belonged to a radically different phase of culture, notwithstanding the buildings they constructed show a greater variety of form and masonry superior to that of their descendants.

The evidences are cumulative that there existed and disappeared in a wide geographical area of the Southwest a people whose buildings differed so much from those of any other area in North America that the area in which they occur may be designated as a characteristic one.

The variety and type of buildings have a bearing on social organization. A large building composed of many units is probably but not necessarily later in time than a single house; an isolated single house would probably be of earlier construction than a collection of several single houses of the same character compactly arranged in a village; a complete consolidation of several houses of such a village into a community house would naturally be more modern than a group of isolated single houses.

City blocks postdate hamlets. Between a stage indicated by single houses and one characterized by consolidated building, there is a phase in which the buildings are grouped in clusters and are not united. We may theoretically suppose that the single house was inhabited by one social unit as a clan or family. As the food quest became more intensified and defense more urgent, social units, as indicated by single houses, would be brought together, and as the population increased the amalgamation would be more complete. This social organization, in the beginning loose, in the course of time would become more homogeneous, and as it did so the union of these separate social units would have been closer; and if we combine with that tendency the powerful stimulus of protection, we can readily see how a compact form of architecture characteristic of the buildings here described was brought about. The element of defense in the villages with scattered houses does not appear to have been very important, but might be adduced to explain the consolidation of these into large community houses.

If the growth of the large pueblos has followed the lines above indicated, and if each unit type indicates a social unit as well, we necessarily have in this growth of the community house the story of the social evolution of the Pueblo people. Clans or social units at first isolated later joined each other, intermarriage always tending to make the population more homogeneous. The social result of the amalgamation of clans seeking common defense would in time be marked. The inevitable outcome would be a breaking down of clan priesthoods or clan religions and the formation of fraternities of priesthoods recruited from several clans. This in turn would lead to a corresponding reduction and enlargement of ceremonial rooms remaining. Two kivas suffice for the ceremonies of the majority of the Rio Grande pueblos; but Cliff Palace with a population of the same size had 23 and Spruce-tree House, a much smaller cliff pueblo, had 8.

One can not fail to notice a similarity in sites of some of the great houses of the McElmo to neighboring cliff habitations and a like relation of Sun Temple to the cliff-dwellings in Fewkes Canyon in the Mesa Verde. Possibly the purpose of these great houses and Sun Temple was identical. Some of the great houses were probably granaries and Sun Temple may have been intended partly for a like use. No indications of remains of stored corn have been observed in any of these buildings, but Castañeda[61] speaks of a village of subterranean granaries (“silos”) in the Rio Grande country, which is instructive in this connection.

INDEX

Page
Acmen Ruin, described, [29]
Antiquities, minor, [66]
Architecture, culture areas determined by, [69]
Architecture, Pueblo—
elements of, [73]
of local origin, [70]
Aztec architecture, unlike that of Pueblos, [69]
Aztec Spring, ruins at, [23]
described by Holmes, [24]
described by Jackson, [24]
ground plan of, [26]
Beams, wooden, method of shaping, [67]
Blanchard Ruin, [23]
Bone, objects made of, [67]
Bowlder Castle, description of, [57]
Bowls, mortuary, [66]
Bug Mesa Ruin, description of, [19]
Bug Point Ruin, excavation of, showing unit type, [29]
Burial customs, [66], [67]
Burial places—
mentioned by Morgan, [21]
near Holmes Tower, [59]
on Grass Mesa, [64]
on the Dolores, [11]
Burkhardt Ruin. See Mud Spring Ruin.
Butte Ruin, description of, [32]
Cannonball Ruin—
description of, [30]
structural features of, [42]
Castles, structural features of, [40]
Caves—
apparently used for storage, [60]
walled-up, [59]
Cemeteries. See Burial places.
Ceremonial rooms, Hopi and Zuñi, not true kivas, [71]
Chaco Canyon Ruins, comparative age of, [72]
Circular Ruins—
distribution of, [31]
structural features of, [31]
Cliff-dwellers—
culture of, [9]
region occupied by, [9]
Cliff-dwellings—
architectural features of, [37]
classification of, [15]
double, [38]
in Lost Canyon, [40]
small, in the McElmo region, [37]
Communal dwellings, [71]
preceded by “small house”, [70]
social conditions indicated by, [69]
Consolidation of units, process of, [74]
Corn, charred, found embedded in slag, [60]
Davis Tower—
ground plan, [55]
location of, [55]
Depressions indicating kivas, [42]
Dove Creek Ruins, [28]
Eight Mile Ruin, masonry in, [41]
Emerson, J. W., description of ruin by, [34]
Emerson Ruin, description of, [33]
Entrances—
to kivas, [42]
to towers, [42]
walled-up, [57]
Eroded Bowlder House, description of, [49]
Escalante and Dominguez, manuscript diary of, [36]
Escalante Ruin, description of, [36]
Far View House, a pueblo of pure type, [15], [16]
Gibraltar House. See Stronghold House.
Gila Valley compounds, [71]
allied to Mexican buildings, [67]
Goodman Point Ruin, description of, [17]
Grass Mesa, cemetery on, [64]
Great houses—
date of construction undetermined, [43]
possible use of, [42], [76]
structural features of, [40]
Hackberry Canyon cliff-house, a “unit type”, [40]
Hackberry Castle, description of, [52]
Hackberry group, elements composing, [74]
Hill Canyon Ruins, [42]
masonry of, [42]
Holly Canyon—
ground plan, [52]
ruins of, [52]
Holly Canyon group, elements composing, [74]
Holly House Ruins, description of, [53]
Holmes, W. H.—
on probable use of towers, [42]
on tower at Mud Spring, [20]
report of, as reference work, [11]
report on ruins by, [10], [11]
slab inclosures described by, [62]
Holmes Tower, description of, [58]
Hopi ceremonial rooms, not true kivas, [71]
Horseshoe House—
compared with Sun Temple, [54]
description of, [53]
ground plan, [54]
structural features of, [40]
Hovenweep Castle—
description of, [47]
ground plan of, [47]
Hovenweep district—
a proposed National Monument, [44]
canyons of, containing ruins, [44]
ruins of, [44]
Hovenweep House, description of, [46]
Implements, stone, [67]
Ingersoll, Ernest, newspaper article by, [11]
Jackson, Wm. H.—
report of, as work of reference, [11]
report of, on ruins, [10], [11]
slab inclosures described by, [62]
Johnson Ruin, description of, [18]
Keeley Towers, location of, [45]
Kidder, A. V. See Morley and Kidder.
Kiva of Unit type House, architectural features of, [51]
Kivas—
double-walled, [39]
entrances to, [42]
indicated by depressions, [42]
indicative of social units, [70]
structural features of, [37]
Lion Tower—
description of, [55]
ground plan of, [55]
Littrell Tower. See Lion Tower.
Lost Canyon cliff-houses, [40]
“Lower House,” of Aztec Spring Ruin, [25], [27]
McElmo Bluff, ruins at, [60]
McElmo district—
distinctive feature of ruins of, [15]
investigations in, of 19[17], [10]
McElmo Ruins, latest work on, [14]
McLean Basin—
ground plan of ruins of, [56]
pottery found in, [56]
ruins of, described, [55]
towers of, [56]
Mancos region, towers of, [58]
Masonry—
of Hill Canyon Ruins, [42]
skill shown in construction, [40]
varieties of, [41]
Megalithic ruins, [60]
Megaliths, circular structures of, [60]
Mesa Verde—
cliff-dwellings and villages of, [9]
culture of inhabitants of, [9]
Mesa Verde Ruins, comparative age of, [72]
Metates—
found at Surouaro, [17]
with skeletal remains, [67]
Mexican tribes and the Pueblos, relation between, [69]
Mitchell, H. L., notes contributed by, [11]
Mitchell Spring Ruin, description of, [19]
Mitchell Spring village, origin of the name, [12]
Monoliths in walls, [30]
Montezuma Valley, distinctive feature of ruins in, [15]
Moorehead, Warren K., ruins described by, [12]
Morgan, L. H.—
investigation of ruins by, [10], [11]
notes of, on ruins of Mesa Verde, [11]
on Mitchell Spring Ruin, [19]
on Mud Creek village, [21]
Morley, S. G.—
excavations conducted by, [30]
work of, [13]
Morley, S. G., and Kidder, A. V., ruins described by, [14]
Mounds—
near Mummy Lake, [15]
of Mud Spring Ruin, [21]
Mud Spring Ruin, description of, [20]
Mummy Lake mounds, [15]
Nelson, N. C., on Pueblo ruins, [17]
Newberry, J. S., on Surouaro, [17]
Nordenskiöld, Baron G., work of, [13]
Oak Spring House, description of, [29]
Old Spanish Trail, route of, [36], [68]
Open-air ruins of Dove Creek, [28]
Parker, Gordon, assistance of, [40]
Pictographs—
colored, [65]
covered with plaster, [65]
incised on stone, [65]
near Ruin 5, [49]
near slab inclosures, [63]
Pierson Lake Ruin. See Squaw Point Ruin.
Pilasters lacking in towers, [42]
Plastering, interiors covered with, [41]
Pottery—
culture areas determined by, [69]
description of, [66]
Prudden, T. Mitchell—
articles by, on ruins of San Juan watershed, [12]
excavations conducted by, [19]
on towers as part of composite ruins, [44]
Pueblo architecture—
elements of complex, [73]
of local origin, [70]
Pueblo culture, direction of its migration, [72]
Pueblo tribes, origin of, [69]
“Pure type” defined, [16]
Reservoir Group, named by J. Ward Emerson, [34]
Reservoirs, Indian—
crossed by Old Bluff Road, [45]
natural and artificial, [64]
Road Canyon, formerly called the Wickyup, [57]
Rooms, with megalithic walls, [15]
Ruin 3, description of, [48]
Ruin 4, description of, [49]
Ruin 5, description of, [49]
Ruin 6, description of, [49]
Ruin 7. See Eroded Bowlder House.
Ruin 8. See Twin Towers.
Ruin 9, description of, [50]
Ruin [10]. See Unit type House.
Ruin [11]. See Stronghold House.
Ruin Canyon—
duplication of name misleading, [45]
ruin in, [30]
unit type houses of, [40]
Ruins—
classification of, [14]
evidences of age of, [73]
Sand Canyon—
cliff-dwellings in, [38]
scaffold in, [38]
tower in, [57]
Scaffold for lookout, [38]
Semicircular ruins, description of, [22]
Slab inclosures—
described by Jackson, [62]
described by Holmes, [62]
Slab structures—
box-like, [60]
circular, [60]
pottery found near, [61]
theories concerning, [61]
“Small house” type of architecture, [70]
Social organization, relation between architecture and, [75]
“Spanish Trail.” See Old Spanish Trail.
Square Tower Canyon—
classification of ruins in, [46]
directions for reaching, [45]
map of, [45]
new name for Ruin Canyon, [45]
Squaw Point Ruin, described, [28]
Stone Arch House, location of, [38]
Stronghold House, description of, [52]
Sun Dial Palace, named by J. Ward Emerson, [34]
Sun Temple—
discovery of, [10]
evidence of age of, [73]
possible use of, [76]
unique ground plan of, [42]
Surouaro—
description of, [16]
named by Newberry, [12]
signification of name, [17]
Towers—
D-shaped, [44]
date of construction undetermined, [43]
entrance to, [42]
entrance walled up, [57]
forms of, [43]
of Holly Canyon, [52]
of McLean Basin, [56]
of Mancos region, [58]
of Sand Canyon, [57]
of Wickyup Canyon, [57]
possible use of, [42]
structural features of, [40]
windows absent in, [42]
Towers and great houses—
form and construction of, [15]
situation of, [15]
“Triple-walled tower”—
at Mud Spring Ruin, [20]
condition of, in 1881, [21]
visited by Holmes, [11]
Twin Towers—
description of, [50]
ground plan of, [50]
Unit type—
defined, [16], [39]
described by Prudden, [12]
origin of, [72]
unlike small house of Little Colorado, [70]
Unit type House—
description of, [50]
ground plan of, [51]
Unit type houses—
in cave, [39]
in Hackberry Canyon, [40]
“Upper House” of Aztec Spring Ruin, [25], [26], [27]
Villages—
defined, [16]
essential features of, [14], [16]
Weapons, iron, [68]
Wickyup Canyon—
description of, [57]
towers in, [57]
Wolley Ranch Ruin, description of, [22]
Wood Canyon Ruins, description of, [32]
Yellow Jacket Canyon—
formerly known as Hovenweep, [57]
investigations in, [10]
towers of, [54]
Zuñi ceremonial rooms not true kivas, [71]

PLATE 1