before channel cutting had commenced, must have been 
an ideal flood-farming area. 
The flora includes pifion pine, juniper, manzanita 
(Arctostaphyllos pungens), sage, blue gramma grass, 
yucca, bee weed (Cleome serrulata Pursh), and several 
varieties of cacti. Canyon floors in the area normally have 
a good stand of blue gramma grass mixed with some 
cacti, yucca, sage brush, and manzanita. Minor depres- 
sions are covered by athick stand of bee plants and sun- 
flowers after the beginning of the rainy season. Scattered 
stands of juniper and pifon pine are found on the valley 
floors. Deer, coyotes, prairie dogs, rabbits, lizards, and 
snakes constitute most of the faunal assemblage. 
The climate is semi-arid and precipitation averages 
about eleven inches annually. The growing season can 
only be estimated from reports of government stations 
near Cebolleta Mesa and is thought to be about 110 days 
long. It is assumed that the climate at the time the cave 
was inhabited was approximately the same as today. 
The site is a fourteen room pueblo situated in Cebol- 
lita Cave. The pueblo was built piece-meal and abandoned 
at least once during its existence. The abundant rock 
fall from the roof attests to the hazards of life in the cave. 
An enormous block of sandstone fell from the roof at one 
time and caused a temporary abandonment of the pueblo. 
W hen the pueblo was reinhabited, it was by a group who 
had a slightly different culture than the previous occu- 
pants. Although the cave was inhabited in the Pre- 
pueblo and Pueblo I periods, the pueblo itself was not 
constructed until the end of the Pueblo II period. The 
entire occupation of the pueblo was encompassed within 
the Early Pueblo III period, from about 1050 to 1200 
A.D. as dated by ceramic typology. 
Preservation of organic material in the pueblo was vari- 
able due to run-off water from the mesa top which flowed 
[ 165 ] 
