FEWKES] CASA GRANDE MOUNDS 89 
2. NORTHEAST BUILDING 
As may be seen from the ground plan (plate xxrv) [here, pl. 6], the first historic 
building, Casa Grande, was not the largest in Compound A. The combined length 
of the six ceremonial rooms is double that of the main building, although their width 
is much less. A building standing northeast of Font’s room [pls. 15, 16] is the 
largest yet excavated and contains many more rooms, some of which are larger than 
any in the historic building. 
The arrangement of the rooms in the northeast building . . . is different from 
that of Casa Grande . . . but is typical of others, especially the extra-mural 
clan houses. This similarity would lead one to suspect that this building was not, 
like the main building, a ceremonial, but rather a residential house. The typical 
form, to which reference is made, is that of a carpenter’s try-square, or that of two 
sides of a rectangle—a form that reappears in the most southerly situated of the two 
clan houses on the east and the cluster of rooms in the southwest corner of Com- 
pound B. The six ceremonial rooms, together with those extending eastward from 
the most northerly of these along the inner surface of the north wall, make also a 
group of the same try-square shape. Since one arm of the northeast cluster is formed 
by the east wall of the compound, it follows that this arm extends approximately 
east and west, and necessarily the other arm of the try-square lies at right angles, or 
north and south... . 
There are five rooms in the east-west arm of the northeast cluster .. . two at 
each end, separated by asingle room. All of these rooms have comparatively massive 
walls, and in most the superficial covering, or plastering, is fairly well preserved. 
Pl. 16.] : 
Room A, at the west end of the eastern arm of this try-square, had been partially 
excavated before the Government began work at Casa Grande, but was left in such a 
bad condition that parts of the east and south walls were practically destroyed. The 
author repaired them, filling in the badly eroded “oles and walls with adobe bricks 
and restoring the wall as best he could to its original condition. [Pl. 17.] 
Room B is one of the best-preserved rooms of those excavated. It was opened down 
to the level of the floor, which was found to be hard and well plastered. Midway 
through the center of this room. . . at equal distances from east and west walls, 
there are two holes, a, a, in the floor, in each of which was a log, charred by fire, 
but still standing erect. These vertical logs once supported a horizontal rafter extend- 
ing from the east to the west wall, resting on both and on the vertical supports. Side 
rafters were supported by this middle log, with ends resting on the north and south 
walls. Upon these smaller rafters was the roof covering of reeds and clay. 
The other three rooms, ©, D, E, of the east-west arm of the northeast building were 
excavated to their floors. Their walls were found to have good surface finish, ‘‘as fine 
as Puebla pottery,’’ and in one instance, D, showed superficial painting. These 
rooms, D and E, have no lateral doorways, a significant fact, which strengthens the 
belief that their former entrances were hatchways on the roof. None of the above- 
mentioned rooms open into one another. Large stones were found to have been used 
in the construction of the foundations of the north wall of room D. 
The rooms of the east section . . . vary in size, and apparently some had lateral 
doors, others hatchways. The narrow wall of the small room, G, was supported by 
upright logs. A section of the fallen roof was laid bare in room H, in which the raft- 
ers and the clay upon them were well preserved. Apparently the rafters in this 
room had simply fallen against a side wall, the ends that formerly rested on the east 
wall having decayed... . 
The walls of rooms J and K show plainly the action of fire, for large quantities of 
charcoal filled these rooms. G has a good floor and fine surface finish on the walls. 
The partitions between these rooms are, however, much broken down. In view of 
their supposed domiciliary character, it is interesting to point out the absence from 
these rooms of domestic utensils. 
