1 84 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



of which indicates the presence of a large ceremonial structure. Con- 

 sequently it may he postulated that all of the people in the valley 

 gathered here during periods of exceptional liturgic importance and 

 participated in the religious rites appertaining to the super kivas. 



The excavations yielded, in addition to the information on house 

 types, 400 specimens of the people's handicraft. The collection 

 includes pottery vessels, stone and bone tools, ornaments, and a num- 

 ber of stone images. The pottery consists of two groups, painted 



J * e **^ 



Fig. 161. — •One of the ceremonial chambers in the large ruin. Portion of 

 subfloor vault shown in lower right corner of picture. Fire pit and ventilator 

 opening in front of Indian boy. 



and unpainted wares. The latter comprise the culinary jars. The 

 painted vessels are of the black-on-white and black-on-red varieties. 

 Both classes contain specimens typical of the Chaco Canyon wares and 

 of the ceramics of the Upper Gila region to the south. Other ex- 

 amples indicate that the characteristics of the two cultures were 

 blended to form a local ceramic type. Of the other groups of objects 

 the stone images are the most interesting. They are the heads of 

 animals but probably are only symbolical, as the creatures depicted 

 cannot be accurately identified. They may have been the symbols of 

 the clans which dwelt there. This is suggested by the fact that they 

 were found in the small ceremonial chambers. 



