No example of the dome-shaped oven of pre-Columbian origin has been found among the pueblo ruins, although its prototype probably existed in ancient times, possibly in the form of a kiln for baking a fine quality of pottery formerly manufactured. However, the cooking pit alone, developed to the point of the pi-gummi oven of Tusayan, may have been the stem upon which the foreign idea was engrafted. Instances of the complete adoption by these conservative people of a wholly foreign idea or feature of construction are not likely to be found, as improvements are almost universally confined to the mere modification of existing devices. In the few instances in which more radical changes are attempted the resulting forms bear evidence of the fact.
In Cibola the construction of a dome-shaped oven is begun by laying out roughly a circle of flat stones as a foundation. Upon these the upper structure is rudely built of stones laid in the mud and approximately in the courses, though often during construction one side will be carried considerably higher than another. The walls curve inward to an apparently unsafe degree, but the mud mortar is often allowed to partly dry before carrying the overhanging portion so far as to endanger the structure, and accidents rarely happen. The oven illustrated in [Pl. XCVII] shows near its broken doorway the arrangement of foundation stones referred to. Typical examples of the dome oven occur in the foreground of the general view of Zuñi shown in [Pl. LXXVIII].
Fig. 55. Dome-shaped oven on a plinth of masonry.
The dome ovens of Cibola are generally smoothly plastered, inside and out, but a few examples are seen in which the stones of the masonry are exposed. In. [Pl. XCIX] may be seen two ovens differing in size, one of which shows the manner in which the opening is blocked up with stone to keep out stray dogs during periods of disuse. [Fig. 55] illustrates a mud-plastered oven at Pescado, which is elevated about a foot above the ground on a base or plinth of masonry. The opening of this oven is on the side toward the houses. This form is quite exceptional in Cibola, though of frequent occurrence among the Rio Grande pueblos. A very large and carefully finished example was examined at Jemez.
Fig. 56. Oven in Pescado exposing stones of masonry.