MiNDELEFF] STONE VILLAGES AND CAVATE LODGES. 193 



The ruius of the first group, or ><toiie villages located on bottom 

 lands witliout reference to defense, represent in size and in degree of 

 skill attained by the builders the highest type in this region, although 

 they are not so numerous as those of the other groups. They are of 

 the same type as, although sometimes smaller in size than, the great 

 valley pueblos of the regions on the north and south, wherein reliance 

 for defense was placed in massive and well-planned structures and not 

 on natural advantages of location. In the north this class of ruin has 

 been shown to be the last stage in along course of evolution, and there 

 is a suggestion that it occupies the same relation to the other ruius in 

 the Verde region; this question, however, will later be discussed at 

 some length. The best example of this type on the lower Verde is a 

 large ruin, located in a considerable bottom on the eastern side of the 

 river, about a mile above the mouth of Limestone creek. This is 

 said to be the largest ruin on the Verde; it is certainly the largest in 

 the region here treated, and it should be noted that it marks practically 

 the southern limit of the Rio Verde group. 



The ruins of the second subclass, or stone villages located on 

 defensive sites, are found throughout the whole of this region, although 

 the type reaches its best development in the northern portion, in the 

 vicinity of Verde. The separation of this type from the preceding one 

 is to a certain extent arbitrary, as the location of a ruin is sometimes 

 determined solely by convenience, and convenience may dictate the 

 selection of a high and defensible site, when the tillable land on which 

 the village depends is of small area, or when it is divided into a num- 

 ber of small and scattered areas; for it was a principle of the ancient 

 village-builders that the parent village should overlook as large an 

 extent as possible of the fields cultivated by its inhabitants. A good 

 illustration of this type of ruin is found a little way northeast of Verde, 

 on the opposite side of the river. Here a. cluster of ruius ranging from 

 small groups of domiciles to medium-sized villages is found located on 

 knobs and hills, high up in the foothills and overlooking large areas of 

 the Verde bottom lands. These are illustrated later. Another example, 

 also illustrated later, occurs on the eastern side of the river about 8 

 miles north of the mouth of Fossil creek. The village, which is very 

 small, occupies the whole summit of a large rock which projects into 

 the stream, and which is connected with the mainland by a natural 

 causeway or dike. This is one of the best sites for defense seen by the 

 writer in an experience of many years. 



Cavate lodges are distributed generally over the whole northern por- 

 tion of the region here treated. At many points throughout this region 

 there are outcrops of a calcareous sandstone, very soft and strongly lam- 

 inated and therefore easily excavated. This formation often appears in 

 the cliffs and small canyons bordering on the streams, and in it are 

 found the cavate lodges. The best examples are found some 8 miles 

 south of Verde, in a small canyon on the eastern side of the river, and it 

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