220 FEAVKES: RELATIONSHIP OF SUN TEMPLE 



kivas of the flat-roofed type are so surrounded by other rooms 

 that their walls have a sunken appearance, but the chambers 

 are not subterranean. When isolated from the room groups, as 

 are certain modern kivas, they suggest the towers found in the 

 Mesa Verde culture area. 8 The tower kiva is more closely allied 

 to kivas of the second type, represented in Cliff Palace by 

 and R, and possibly by W (see my account of the excavation 

 and repair of that ruin). I do not regard this type as a transi- 

 tion form connecting circular and rectangular kivas, as suggested 

 by Nordenskiold, for I find they have distinct origins, but a cir- 

 cular subterranean kiva with pedestals and an arched roof may 

 be related to a round kiva of the second type. 9 



The comparisons that have been made above between the 

 ceremonial rooms in cliff dwellings, towers, and the ruin called 

 Sun Temple have led me to believe that certain of the structures, 

 known as towers, were in reality not lookouts, as commonly be- 

 lieved, but were constructed solely for religious purposes as sug- 

 gested by the discoverers. On the other hand, some of the tow- 

 ers cannot be regarded as places of worship. Some served prob- 

 ably as lookouts, while many were built for storage, defense, or 

 other purposes. All our theories about their use are tentative, 

 awaiting the time when we shall have more exact knowledge of 

 details, which can be discovered only by scientific excavation of 

 the debris that has fallen around their foundations, obscuring 

 the floors and the connections with other buildings in the im- 

 mediate neighborhood. 



In closing this comparison of Sun Temple or its kivas with 

 San Juan tower kivas, a word may be said in explanation ol the 

 term "type ruin." Our Southwest is dotted with prehistoric 

 habitations of several distinct forms, indicating different culture 

 areas, so far as it is possible to determine them in the light of 



8 The circular kivas without pilasters are common lower down the San Juan 

 in the Navaho National Monument. The modern circular kivas belong to the 

 group without vaulted roofs, which includes also towers. A D-shaped kiva of 

 the second type, suggesting D-shaped tower kivas of Ruin Canyon, is found in 

 Oak Tree House. 



9 Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace. Bull. 51, Bur. 

 Amer. Ethn. 1911. 



