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.
Figs. [56] and [57] illustrate two specimens of rough masonry ovens seen at Pescado. In one of these a decided horizontal arrangement of the stones in the masonry prevails. The specimen at the right is small and rudely constructed, showing but little care in the use of the building material. The few specimens of dome ovens seen in Tusayan are characterized by the same rudeness of construction noticed in their house masonry. The rarity of this oven at Tusayan, where so many of the constructions have retained a degree of primitiveness not seen elsewhere, is perhaps an additional evidence of its foreign origin.
Fig. 57. Oven in Pescado exposing stones of masonry.