606 



THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



In this section through refuse wliich had lain buried 

 for five or more centuries can be seen a plaited yucca san- 

 dal, a wooden disk strung on a long cord, and packed all 

 about them corn husks, yucca leaves, and strips of cedar 

 bark. As if by a conspiracy of nature the five feet of refuse 

 of vegetable origin which covered the floor of one room at 

 Aztec had been completely shielded from dampness, and 

 from it were taken a quantity and diversity of ordinarily 

 perishable specimens never surpassed in the history of 

 southwestern exploration 



contrary, the kiva (ceremonial chain- ground 

 ber) belonging to this part of the ings of 

 house, built of quarried sandstone, is as angles 



neat a piece of construction as 

 lias been found in tlie entire 

 ruin. 



Because of the thickness of 

 the standing walls, and the 

 depth of the debris which was 

 removed, it seems indubitable 

 tliat the structure of which 

 rooms 16-36 give the ground 

 ])lan was at least two stories in 

 lieight. The east wing was 

 l)uilt long before this section 

 was erected, as proved by the 

 fact that three feet of refuse of 

 human origin had accumulated 

 on the ground occupied Ijy the 

 later structure before its foun- 

 dations were laid. One may 

 venture the statement that this 

 "unit house" was an architec- 

 tural unit added to the pueblo 

 to accommodate a social unit 

 — a family, clan, or secret so- 

 ciety — which desired to be- 

 come affiliated with the larger 

 viUage and had been received 

 as an integral part of the com- 

 munity. 



The remainder of the ground 

 ])lan of the excavated area, 

 namely, the main east Aving 

 and the east end of the north 

 wing, seems to have been built 

 at al)out the same time. The 

 longitudinal walls are con- 

 tinuous, and the masonry uni- 

 form throughout. Quarried 

 sandstone blocks are the build- 

 ing material, and these were 

 faced and laid with admirable 

 ])recision. In this quarter the 

 pueblo was at least three stories 

 in height, descending terrace 

 fashion toward the court. 

 Some of the walls stand to a 

 height of twenty feet — well up 

 on the second story. Two 

 rooms (59 and 61) on the 

 floor retain their original ceil- 

 cedar beams covered at right 

 with smaller poles, and sur- 



