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ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEMEZ PLATEAU 



19 



were built over the doorways, but nowhere were complete houses 

 built against the cliff, as at Tshire^e. 



For the most part the dwellings are found in clusters and at two 

 general levels, that is, at the top of the long steep slope of the talus, 

 and again in the face of a second terrace far above the talus and 

 exceedingly difficult of access. 



From about half a mile to a mile above the main pueblo of Otowi is a 

 cliff-village that is unique. Here is a cluster of conical formations of 

 white tufa, some of which attain a height of thirty feet (pi. vi). 

 These are popularly called "tent rocks." They are full of caves, both 

 natural and artificial, some of which have been utilized as human 

 habitations. These dwellings are structurally identical with those 

 found in the cliff's. They present the appearance of enormous bee- 

 hives. 





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Fig. 6. — Ground plan of Otowi. 



The main pueblo ruin at Otowi differs in plan from any other in 

 this region (fig. 6). It consists of a cluster of five houses, situated 

 on sloping ground and connected at one end by a wall, with the excep- 

 tion of the house marked e on the plan, which was detached. These 

 were terraced structures, probably almost an exact counterpart of the 

 present terraced houses at Taos, though perhaps somewhat smaller 

 and containing a less number of stories. No one of the houses at 

 Otowi had more than four stories and none fewer than two. The 

 ground plan here shown is only approximately correct. A drawing 

 showing the exact alignment of walls can not be made until many tons 

 of stone are removed. Accordingly some conjectural work was nec- 

 essary in making the plan. Altogether the five houses contained 

 about 450 rooms on the ground floor. The number of superimposed 



