160 PUEBLO ARCHITECTURE. 
most expert of the numerous dogs that infest the village can clumsily 
make their way up and down them. As described in a previous section 
all houses built during the year are consecrated at a certain season, 
and among other details of the ceremonial, certain rites, intended to 
prevent accidents to children, etc., are performed at the foot of the lad- 
ders. 
In Tusayan, where stone is abundant, the ladder has not reached the 
elaborate development seen in Zuni. The perforated cross piece is 
rarely seen, as there is little necessity for its adoption. The side poles 
are held together by the top and bottom rungs, which pass entirely 
through the side pieces and are securely fixed, while the ends of the 
others are only partly embedded in the side pieces. In other cases 
(Pl. xxxi1) the poles are rigidly held in place by ropes.or rawhide 
lashings. 
Short ladders whose side poles are but little prolonged beyond the 
top rung are of common occurrence, particularly in Oraibi. Three such 
ladders are shown in Pl. LXxx1v. A similar example may be seen in 
Pl. cvu, in connection with a large opening closed with rough masonry. 
In these cases the rungs are made to occupy slight notches or depres- 
sions in the upright poles and are then firmly lashed with rawhide, form- 
ing a fairly rigid structure. This type of ladder is probably a survival 
of the earliest form of the pueblo ladder. 
In addition to the high cross piece whose function is to retain in place 
the vertical poles, the kiva ladders are usually provided, both in Zuni 
and Tusayan, with a cross piece consisting of a round stick tied to the 
uprights and placed at a uniform height above the kiva roof. This stick 
affords a handhold for the masked dancers who are often encumbered 
with ceremonial paraphernalia as they enter the kiva. In the case of 
the Oraibi kiva occupying the foreground of Pl. XxxviIl, it may be seen 
that this handhold cross piece is inserted into holes in the side poles, 
an exception to the general practice. In Pl. LXxxvil, illustrating kivas, 
the position of this feature will be seen. 
The exceptional mode of access to Tusayan kiva hatchways by means 
of short flights of stone steps has already been noticed. In several 
instances the top steps of these short flights cover the thickness of the 
wall. The remains of a similar stairway were observed in Pueblo Bonito, 
where it evidently reached directly from the ground to an external 
doorway. Access by such means, however, is a departure from the 
original defensive idea. 
Modern practice in Zuni has departed more widely from the primitive 
system than at Tusayan. In the former pueblo short flights of stone 
steps giving access to doors raised but a short distance above the ground 
are very commonly seen. Even in the small farming pueblo of Pescado 
two examples of this arrangement are met with. Pl. xcrx illustrates 
one of these found on the north outside wall. In the general views 
of the Tusayan villages the closer adherence to primitive methods is 
