CLIFF-DWELLERS CRADLE—SIDE
The modern Hopi rectangular form of ceremonial room situated underground seems in some instances to have derived certain features from the circular subterranean kiva.
The chief kiva at Walpi, that used by the Snake fraternity, is rectangular and subterranean, while that used by the Flute priests, which is practically a ceremonial room, is a chamber entered by a side doorway. It is suggested that the Snake kiva at Walpi was derived from the circular subterranean kiva of Tokónabi, the former home of the Snake clan in northern Arizona, and that the Flute chamber was developed from the rectangular rooms in the same ruins. The old question, so often considered by Southwestern archeologists, whether the circular subterranean kiva was derived from the rectangular or vice versa, seems to the writer to be somewhat modified by the fact that ceremonial rooms of both forms exist side by side in many ancient cliff-dwellings. From circular subterranean kivas in some instances developed square kivas, but the latter are sometimes the direct development of square rooms; the determination of the original form can best result from a study of clans and their migrations.[55]
Naturally the questions one asks in regard to these ruins are: Why did the inhabitants build in these cliffs? Who were the ancient inhabitants? When were these dwellings inhabited and deserted?
It is commonly believed that the caves were chosen for habitations because they could be better defended than villages in the open. This is a good answer to the first question, so far as it goes, although somewhat imperfect. The ancients chose this region for their homes on account of the constant water supply in the creek and the patches of land in the valley that could be cultivated. This was a desirable place for their farms. Had there been no caves in the cliffs they would probably have built habitations in the open plain below. They may have been harassed by marauders, but it must be borne in mind that their enemies did not come in great numbers at any one time. 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. Such an approach would have been impossible. Marauders might have raided the Kitsiel cornfields, but they could not have dislodged the inhabitants. Even if they had succeeded in capturing one house but little would have been gained, as it was a custom of the Pueblos to keep enough food in store to last more than a year. In this connection the question is pertinent, While hostiles were besieging Kitsiel how could they subsist during any length of time? Only with the utmost difficulty, even with aid of ropes and ladders, can one now gain access to some of these ruins. How could marauding parties have entered them if the inhabitants were hostile? The cliff-dwellings were constructed partly for defense, but mainly for the shelter afforded by the overhanging cliff, and the cause of their desertion was not due so much to predatory enemies as failure of crops or the disappearance of the water supply.
The writer does not regard these ruins as of great antiquity; some of the evidence indicates that they are of later time. Features in their architecture show resemblances derived from other regions. The Navaho ascribe the buildings to ancient people and say that the ruined houses existed before their own advent in the country, but this was not necessarily long ago. Such evidence as has been gathered supports Hopi legends that the inhabitants were ancient Hopi belonging to the Flute, Horn, and Snake families.
There is no evidence that cliff-house architecture developed in these canyons, and rude structures older than these have been found in this region. Whoever the builders of these structures were, they brought their craft with them. 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. The scanty traditions known to the author support the belief in a migration from east to west, although there were exceptional instances of clan movements in the opposite direction. The general trend of migration would indicate that the ancestral home of the Snake and Flute people was in Colorado and New Mexico.
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY