go SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 66 
The mound (fig. 113) covering the ruined walls of the Sun Temple 
dates back to 1555, as indicated by a cedar tree having 360 annual 
“rings” which was found growing on the top of the highest wall. 
There is no way of telling how much earlier the mound was formed 
or how many years before it became a mound the foundations of the 
building were laid. It 1s, however, believed that worship at the sun 
shrine undoubtedly antedated the construction of the building. 
Fic. 112—Sun Temple from point across Fewkes Canyon, Mesa Verde 
National Park, Colorado. Photograph by T. G. Lemmon. 
The Sun Temple was probably built by the neighboring cliff- 
dwellers and is regarded as more modern than Cliff Palace. The 
unity of plan shown in the Sun Temple (fig. 115) indicates union of 
several clans in its construction and the existence of a higher social 
organization than at Cliff Palace. It was intended for a ceremonial 
building with a secondary purpose of storage and refuge in time of 
trouble, but shows evidence that it was never finished. 
A cliff-ruin called by guides Willow House, but which might 
better be known as Oak-tree House, is a typical cliff-dwelling of 
about the same age and culture as Cliff Palace. It is situated in 
