614 EXPEDITION TO ARIZONA IN 1895 [ETH ANN. 17 
ruin deserted two centuries ago, the other still used in the performance 
of ancient rites, no doubt much older than the overthrow of the great 
pueblo of Antelope mesa. 
OLD AWATOBI 
The western mounds of Awatobi afford satisfactory evidence that 
they cover the older rooms of the pueblo, and show by their compact 
form that the ancient village in architectural plan was similar to modern 
Walpi. They indicate that Awatobi was of pyramidal form, was sym- 
metrical, three or four stories high,! without a central plaza, but prob- 
ably penetrated by narrow courts or passages. No great ceremonial 
dance could have taken place in the heart of the pueblo, since there 
was not sufficient space for its celebration, but it must have occurred 
outside the village, probably in the open space to the east, near where 
the ruined walls of the mission now stand. 
From the nature of the western mounds I found it advantageous to 
begin the work of excavation in the steep decline on the southern side, 
and to penetrate the mound on the level of its base or the rock forma- 
tion which forms its foundation. In this way all the débris could advan- 
tageously be moved and thrown over the side of the mesa. We began 
to open the mounds, therefore, on the southern side, making converging 
trenches at intervals, working toward their center. We found that these 
trenches followed continuous walls connected by cross partitions, form- 
ing rooms, and that these were continued as far as we penetrated. 
The evidence is good that these rooms are followed by others which 
extend into the deepest part of the mound. We likewise excavated at 
intervals over the whole surface of the western area of Awatobi, and 
wherever we dug, walls of former rooms, which diminished in altitude 
on the northern side, were found. From these excavations I concluded 
that if any part of the western mound was higher than the remainder, 
it was on the southern side just above the edge of the mesa, and from 
that highest point the pueblo diminished in altitude to the north, in 
which direction it was continued for some distance in low, single-story 
rooms. 
ROOMS OF THE WESTERN MOUND 
The older or western portion of Awatobi is thus believed to be made 
up of a number of high mounds which rise steeply, and for a consider- 
able height from the southern edge of the cliff, from which it slopes 
more gradually to the north and west. On account of this steep decliv- 
ity we were able to examine, in vertical section, the arrangement of the 
rooms, one above the other (figure 256). By beginning excavations on 
the rocky foundation and working into the mound, parallel walls were 
encountered at intervals as far as we penetrated. From the edge of 
the cliff there seemed to extend a series of these parallel walls, which 
1“ Las casas son de tres altos '—Segunda Relacion, p. 580. 
