At several points ruined walls are seen, remains of abandoned rooms that have fallen into decay. Occasionally a rough, buttress-like projection from a wall is the only vestige of a room or a cluster of rooms, all traces on the ground having been obliterated.

The mesa summit, that forms the site of this village, is nearly level, with very little earth on its surface. A thin accumulation of soil and rubbish lightly covers the inner court, but outside, along the face of the long row, the bare rock is exposed continuously. Where the rooms have been abandoned and the walls have fallen, the stones have all been utilized in later constructions, leaving no vestige of the former wall on the rocky site, as the stones of the masonry have always been set upon the surface of the rock, with no excavation or preparation of footings of any kind.

Plate XIX. View of Sichumovi.

[ SICHUMOVI.]

According to traditional accounts this village was founded at a more recent date than Walpi. It has, however, undergone many changes since its first establishment.

The principal building is a long irregular row, similar to that of Hano (Pl. XVIII). A portion of an L-shaped cluster west of this row, and a small row near it parallel to the main building, form a rude approximation to the inclosed court arrangement. The terracing here, however, is not always on the court side, whereas in ancient examples such arrangement was an essential defensive feature, as the court furnished the only approach to upper terraces. In all of these villages there is a noticeable tendency to face the rows eastward instead of toward the court. The motive of such uniformity of direction in the houses must have been strong, to counteract the tendency to adhere to the ancient arrangement. The two kivas of the village are built side by side, in contact, probably on account of the presence at this point of a favorable fissure or depression in the mesa surface.

[full size]
Plate XVIII. Plan of Sichumovi.