SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I927 



167 



Little remained of the interior furnishings. In the center of each 

 room was a rectangular or circular firepit. A few inches from the 

 firepit was a small circular hole in the floor which is possibly anal- 

 ogous to the sipapu of later day kivas. The latter symbolizes the 

 mythical place of emergence through which the present Pueblo Indians 

 believe their ancestors passed on their journey from the underworld 

 to the surface of the earth. In the days when the Chaco village was 

 inhabited, each dwelling may have had its own shrine, whereas in 

 following periods it was deemed essential only to the ceremonial house. 

 Other small holes in the plastered floor no doubt served as storage 

 places for small objects. In many of the houses a row of upright slal)s 



Fig. 191. — Probable method of house construction, a, ante-chamber; /', 

 passage; r, deflector; d. support posts; c. smoke hole; /, firepit; g, sipapu: 

 h, small storage pit ; /, plastered covering on superstructure. 



formed a bin-like compartment on the side in which the doorway 

 was located (fig. 193). There was generally an opening in the center 

 of this row of slabs immediately in front of the doorway. Associated 

 with this was an upright slab set in the floor l)etween the doorway 

 and the firepit. The latter, like the deflector in kivas, would prevent 

 cold air from rushing through the opening and directly onto the fire. 

 Most of the houses appeared to have had an entry-way on the 

 south or southeast side. The doorway of the main room gave access 

 into a short passage which in turn opened into an oval room. The 

 latter was roofed in much the same fashion as the dwelling except 

 that there were no interior supporting posts. Because of its smaller 

 size the sloping side poles would carry the weight of the superstruc- 

 ture without additional aid. They probably met at the center, giving 

 a conical shape to the covering. The ante-chamber of these domiciles 



