188 ANTIQUITIES OF THE VERDE AND WALNUT CREEK [eTH. any. 28 
Rurs at THE Moutu or Oak CREEK 
The cavate rooms (pls. 81-84) in the bluff overlooking Oak Creek 
are good examples of cave domiciles artificially excavated in cliffs. 
This cluster of rooms, accompanied by a building above, is situated 
in the angle formed by Oak Creek and the Verde, about 50 yards 
from the Cornville-Verde road, having a wide outlook across the 
valleys of both streams. Although not so extensive as the cavate 
lodges found lower down the Verde, and somewhat smaller than 
most similar caves in the Rio Grande region, this cluster is repre- 
sentative of Verde Valley cavate lodges. 
The rock of which the bluff is composed is a friable tufaceous 
formation, superficially much eroded by weathering. This rock is so 
soft that it could be readily worked with stone implements, as shown 
by certain peckings on the vault of the roof and on the walls of the 
rooms. Judging from the nature of the rock, it is probable that the 
face of the bluff above the river has been worn away considerably 
since the caves were deserted; the front walls have changed somewhat 
even in modern times. 
Although these artificial caves have been known for some time, 
especially to people living in the vicinity, little detailed study has 
been given to them by archeologists. In his report on the lower 
Verde ruins, Mindeleff does not mention or figure them, and they are 
not discussed in other accounts. In 1898 the present author directed 
attention to the interesting character of these caves. 
A marked feature of cavate rooms in Arizona? is the almost unex- 
ceptional association with them of buildings constructed on the talus 
at their bases or on the mesa above them. Associated with the Oak 
Creek caves, as with the cavate dwellings of Clear Creek, lower down 
the Verde, there is a building (pl. 81) on the mesa above but none 
on the talus below. Although at present much broken down, this 
building presents strong indication of long habitation and is believed 
to have been occupied contemporaneously with the caves below, pos- 
sibly by the same clans. 
If the cavate rooms and the pueblo on the mesa were inhabited 
synchronously, the suggestion naturally occurs that they may have 
had two distinct uses: possibly one was for ceremonial, the other 
for secular, purposes; or one was for storage of food and the other 
for dwelling purposes. The author inclines to the belief that each 
of these two types was devoted to a distinct use, but he is unable 
definitely to substantiate this hypothesis. The ruin (pl. 81) on top 
of the bluff overlooking Oak Creek was an extensive village resem- 
bling a pueblo; some of its walls are well preserved. One can hardly 
1In 17th Ann. Rep. Bur. Amer. Ethnol. 
2 Similar caves found on Clear Creek resemble in general those on Oak Creek, and there is no reason to 
doubt the tribal identity of the inhabitants of the two localities. 
