SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, KJJH 



i65 



the aclohe used in the construction of the houses was taken, Ijut their 

 usefuhiess did not always end there. In some cases they served in the 

 construction of kivas or circular ceremonial rooms, while in others 

 they seem to have functioned as reservoirs. It is impossible to tell 

 in any given case, without hard and tedious excavation, which the 

 depression may be. 



_ Kivas were simple in form. After the roughly circular pit had been 

 dug to the desired depth, it was covered with a roof supported on 

 four posts. The native earth walls and floor were covered with a 

 coating of plaster. There was no bench as found in later kivas ; the 

 sipapu, representing the mythical place of emergence from the earth. 



Fig. 147. — Portion of a kiva. Doiibk' ventilator an nnnsual feature. 



and iire-screen were also missing. There was a ventilator, however, 

 at the southeast side. In the example pictured (fig. 147), it is rather 

 curious in form, having two openings into the chamber and only a 

 single shaft as an exterior outlet. This particular kiva had been 

 connected to one of the houses, as shown in the plan of the village, 

 by an underground passage which opened into it on the west side. 

 This feature, except for the difference in orientation, seems to re])re- 

 sent the forerunner of the closely comparable one found in the unit- 

 pueblos of the following cultural period. 



The burning of the houses not only served to preserve a record 

 of the methods used in their construction, but also was responsible for 

 the finding of manv specimens in the ruins. Because of the haste in 



