INTRODUCTION. XXXI 
high value from their incidental allusions and in their preser- 
vation of the conditions of the past which influenced the lines 
and limitations of their growth. 
The classification and account of the Pueblo phratries and 
gentes form an important contribution to anthropology, and the 
discussion upon the origin and use of the kivas is more explan- 
atory and exhaustive than any before made on that subject. 
This word of the Tusayan language is adopted to take the 
place of the Spanish term ‘“‘estuta,” which literally means a 
stove, and is misleading, because it strictly applies only to the 
sweat houses which lodge-building Indians use. The kiva is 
the ceremonial chamber of the ancient and modern Pueblo 
peoples. They are found wherever the remains of Pueblo archi- 
tecture occur, and are distinguished from the typical dwelling 
rooms by their size and position and generally by their form. 
The author dwells instructively upon the antiquity, excavation, 
access, exterior masonry, orientation, and general construction, 
furniture, and ornaments of these remarkable chambers, and 
upon the rites connected with them. He also gives an original 
and acute suggestion to account for the persistence of the 
structural plan of the kivas by its religious or mythologic 
signification. 
The designation of the curious orifice of the stpapuh as ‘the 
place from which the people emerged,” in connection with the 
peculiar arrangement of the kiva interior with its change of 
floor level, suggested to Mr. Mindeletf that these features might 
be regarded as typifying the four worlds of the genesis myth 
that has exercised such an influence on Tusavan customs. 
He was also led to infer that it typifies the ‘four houses” or 
stages described in their creation myths. The sipapuh, with 
its cavity beneath the floor, is certainly regarded as indicating 
the place of beginning, the lowest house under the earth, the 
abode of Myuingwa, the Creator; the main or lower floor 
represents the second stage; and the elevated section of the 
floor is made to denote the third stage, where animals were 
created. At the New Year festivals animal fetiches were set 
in groups upon this platform. It is also to be noted that the 
ladder to the surface is invariably made of pine, and always 
rests upon the platform, never upon the lower floor, and in 
