[Pl. LXXVIII] gives a general view of these higher terraces of the village from the southeast. A height of five distinct terraces from the ground is attained on the south side of this cluster. The same point, however, owing to the irregularity of the site, is only three terraces above the ground on the north side. The summit of the knoll upon which the older portion of Zuñi has been built is so uneven, and the houses themselves vary so much in dimensions, that the greatest disparity prevails in the height of terraces. A three-terrace portion of a cluster may have but two terraces immediately alongside, and throughout the more closely built portions of the village the exposed height of terraces varies from 1 foot to 8 or 10 feet. [Pl. LXXIX] illustrates this feature.
Plate LXXIX. Zuñi terraces.
The growth of the village has apparently been far beyond the original expectation of the builders, and the crowded additions seem to have
been joined to the clusters wherever the demand for more space was most urgent, without following any definite plan in their arrangement. In such of the ancient pueblo ruins as afford evidence of having passed through a similar experience, the crowding of additional cells seems to have been made to conform to some extent to a predetermined plan. At Kin-tiel we have seen how such additions to the number of habitable rooms could readily be made within the open court without affecting the symmetry and defensive efficiency of the pueblo; but here the nucleus of the large clusters was small and compact, so that enlargement has taken place only by the addition of rooms on the outside, both on the ground and on upper terraces.
Plate LXXX. Old adobe church of Zuñi.
The highest point of Zuñi, now showing five terraces, is said to have had a height of seven terraces as late as the middle of the present century, but at the time of the survey of the village no traces were seen of such additional stories. The top of the present fifth terrace, however, is more than 50 feet long, and affords sufficient space for the addition of a sixth and seventh story.