10 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull, to 



not as readily separated from that of adjacent regions where the 

 buildings are superficially similar hut structurally different. In 

 order to distinguish it from its neighhors and determine its horizon, 

 we must become familiar with certain architectural characteristics. 

 As our knowledge of the character of buildings in this area is incom- 

 plete, the intention of the author is to define the several different 

 types of buildings that characterize it. 



When, in 1915, there was brought to light on the Mesa Verde 

 National Park, Colorado, the mysterious structure, Sun Temple, the 

 author recalled well-known descriptions of towers and other related 

 buildings that have been recorded from other localities in south- 

 western Colorado and Utah. The published descriptions of these 

 structures did not seem to him adequate for comparisons, and he 

 planned an examination of these great houses and towers, hoping to 

 gather new data that would shed some light on his interpretation of 

 Sun Temple. During the field work in 1917, thanks to an allotment 

 from the Bureau of American Ethnology for that purpose, he under- 

 took a reconnoissance in the McElmo district, where similar buildings 

 are found and where he believed cultural relatives of the former 

 inhabitants of Mesa Verde once lived. In 1918 he extended his field 

 work still farther. He investigated ruins as far as the western tribu- 

 taries of the Yellow Jacket Canyon, penetrating a short distance 

 beyond the Colorado border into Utah. The object of the following 

 pages is to make known the more important results of this visit, and 

 interpret the evidence they present as a contribution to our knowledge 

 of the extension in prehistoric times of the Mesa Verde culture area. 



HISTORICAL 



Attention was first publicly called, about 40 years ago (1875-1877), 

 by Messrs. Jackson, 1 Holmes, Morgan, and others, to some of the 

 ruins here considered. It is difficult to identify all of the ruins 

 mentioned or described by these pioneers. Their "Hovenweep 

 Castle" is supposed to lie in about the center of the district here 

 considered, possibly on Square Tower (Ruin) Canyon, although the 

 large castellated building 2 in Holly Canyon would also fulfill con- 

 ditions equally well. Their "Pueblo" may have been situated on 

 the McElmo near the mouth of Yellow Jacket Canyon. Early 

 writers rather vaguely refer to a cluster of castles and towers as 

 situated some distance from the "Burial Place," which is readily 

 identified on the promontory at the mouth of the McElmo, as prob- 

 ably those hi Square Tower (Ruin) Canyon, but the cluster may be 



i Ancient Ruins in Southwestern Colorado. Kept. V. R. Geol. Surv. Terr. (llaydcn Survey) for 1S74, 

 Washington, 1876. 



2 The situation of a spring near Hovenweep CbsI le Indicates that the Great House may bo t he Hoven- 

 weep Castle of early writers. 



