66 ANNUAL REPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1923 



of interments was too large for the number of dwellings. The three 

 kivas belong to the highest type of these structures characteristic of 

 the Mesa Verde. In one of them there was a well-made wall of 

 secondary construction showing a secondary occupation and ruder 

 masonry. This kiva showed signs of having been abandoned and 

 later reoccupied, but how many years elapsed between the two occu- 

 pations was not evident from data available. 



The excavation of this Mesa Verde tower led to new ideas of the 

 structure and use of these remains, hundreds of which are found 

 scattered in the canyons and on the mesas of the northern tributaries 

 of the upper San Juan Eiver. This tower is a fair example of the 

 type of these buildings. It was probably an outlook for observations 

 of the sun and ceremonies connected with the sky god. 



The first type of tower recognized in the Mesa Verde is a simple 

 lookout situated naturally on the summit of a hill or high elevation, 

 but unaccompanied by any other building ; the second type has basal 

 rooms which apparently are used for storage of food or possibly 

 for habitation. Far View Tower is classified in a third type, in 

 which we have a tower rising from basal subterranean kivas, 

 granaries, and dwellings. The purpose of this type of tower is the 

 same as Pipe Shrine House. 



During the greater part of August the tops of the walls of Far 

 View House were covered with cement to protect them from the 

 elements, and it is believed the protected walls will remain upright 

 for several years without further repair. The permanent protection 

 of these open ruins is always difficult and costly, but necessary. 

 There still remain many unsolved problems on the Mesa Verde 

 awaiting attention, but with small appropriations new ruins can not 

 be opened and those already opened can not be repaired. 



Some distance north of Far View Tower is the depression long 

 ago christened Mummy Lake. Its true nature is unknown, though 

 it may have been a reservoir ; but no mummies have ever been found 

 in its vicinity. In the thick cedars about it, situated on the right 

 hand of the road, there are several small mounds indicating ruins, 

 generally habitations, surrounding kivas. In one of these there are 

 walls made of large stones set on edge, standing above ground. 

 These stones project 4 feet above the surface, and their size has led 

 to the ruin being called Megalithic House. Excavation work on 

 this ruin was begun but not completed before the appropriation was 

 exhausted. 



About every other night during the five months the chief worked 

 on the Mesa Verde he gave camp-fire talks to visitors and spent 

 considerable time daily in explaining the signification of the excava- 

 tions while they were in progress. 



