Se 
MINDELEFF.] OVENS. 165 
upper structure is rudely built of stones laid in the mud and approxi- 
mately in the courses, though often during construction one side will be 
carried considerably higher than another. The walls curve inward to an 
apparently unsafe degree, but the mud mortar is often allowed to partly 
dry before carrying the overhanging portion so far as to endanger the 
structure, and accidents rarely happen. The oven illustrated in PI. 
XCVII Shows near its broken doorway the arrangement of foundation 
stones referred to. Typical examples of the dome oven occur in the 
foreground of the general view of Zuni shown in Pl. LXXVIII. 
The dome ovens of Cibola are generally smoothly plastered, inside 
and out, but a few examples are seen in which the stones of the masonry 
areexposed. In PI. xc1x may be seen two ovens differing in size, one of 
which shows the manner in which the opening is blocked up with stone to 
keep out stray dogs during periods of disuse. Fig. 55 illustrates a mud- 
plastered oven at Pescado, which is elevated about a foot above the 
ground on a base or plinth of masonry. The opening of this oven is on 
the side toward the houses. This form is quite exceptional in Cibola, 
ae 
> = = 
HHobaxt Niehols-90 ~~ 
Fia. 55. Dome-shaped oven on a plinth of masonry. 
though of frequent occurrence among the Rio Grande pueblos. A very 
large and carefully finished example was examined at Jemez. 
