Plate LXIV. North wall of Kin-tiel.
The arrangement of the inner houses differs in the two halves of the ruin. It will be seen that in the north half the general arrangement is roughly parallel with the outer walls, with the exception of a small group near the east end of the arroyo. In the south half, on the other hand, the inner rows are nearly at right angles to the outer room clusters. An examination of the contours of the site will reveal the cause of this difference in the different configuration of the slopes in the two cases. In the south half the rows of rooms have been built on two long projecting ridges, and the diverging small cluster in the north half owes its direction to a similar cause. The line of outer wall being once fixed as a defensive bulwark, there seems to have been but little restriction in the adjustment of the inner buildings to conform to the irregularities of the site. ([Pl. LXIII].)
Only three clearly defined means of access to the interior of the pueblo could be found in the outer walls, and of these only two were suitable for general use. One was at a reentering angle of the outer wall, just south of the east end of the arroyo, where the north wall, continued across the arroyo, overlaps the outer wall of the south half, and the other one was near the rounded northeastern corner of the pueblo. The third opening was a doorway of ordinary size in the thick north wall. It seems probable that other gateways once existed, especially in the south half. From its larger size and more compact arrangement this south half would seem to have greatly needed such facilities, but the preserved walls show no trace of them.
The ground plan furnishes indications, mostly in the north half, of several large rooms of circular form, but broken down remains of square rooms are so much like those of round ones in appearance, owing to the greater amount of débris that collects at the corners, that it could not be definitely determined that the ceremonial rooms here were of the circular form so common in the ancient pueblos. While only circular kivas have been found associated with ancient pueblos of this type, the kivas of all the Cibola ruins above described are said by the Zuñis to have been rectangular. The question can be decided for this pueblo only by excavation on a larger scale than the party was prepared to undertake. Slight excavation at a point where a round room was indicated on the surface, revealed portions of straight walls only.
Plate LXVI. Kinna-Zinde.
The large size of the refuse heap on the south side of the village indicates that the site had been occupied for many generations. Notwithstanding this long period of occupation, no important structure of the village seems to have extended beyond the plan. On the north side, outside the main wall, are seen several rectangles faintly outlined by stones, but these do not appear to have been rooms. They resemble similar inclosures seen in connection with ruined pueblos farther south, which proved on excavation to contain graves.
The positions of the few excavations made are indicated on the plan ([Pl. LXIII]). Our facilities for such work were most meager, and whatever results were secured were reached at no great distance from the surface. One of these excavations, illustrated in [Pl. C], will be described at greater length in Chapter IV.