198 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I47 



largely because their stonework includes a great deal of second-hand 

 material — dressed blocks of friable sandstone salvaged from razed 

 second- and third-type kivas and contemporary structures vv^hose 

 remains underlie much of the pueblo (figs. 4-6). 



SUPER KIVAS 



Our two super-kivas, A and Q, are Late Bonitian creations and 

 so, too, is their predecessor the remnants of which we found unex- 

 pectedly in 1925 12 feet under the West Court (fig. 7). In neither 

 of the three structures did I see the slightest evidence of Old Bonitian 

 participation. All are Pueblo III exclusively. Kiva A is younger 

 than Q ; it is, as a matter of fact, one of the last major construction 

 projects undertaken by the Late Bonitians. If, in this presentation, 

 I omit consideration of other Great Kivas, let it be remembered that 

 this is a study of Pueblo Bonito architecture only and not a com- 

 pendium of southwestern archeology. 



GREAT KIVA A 



Kiva A, central and most conspicuous feature of Pueblo Bonito, 

 was excavated by the National Geographic Society in the summer 

 of 192L Contrary to published statements (Hewett, 1922, p. 125; 

 et al.) the Hyde Expeditions of 1896-1899 did not excavate Kiva A 

 but did clear the peripheral rooms overlooking the chamber from 

 north and south. We saw no evidence of pre- 1921 shovelwork within 

 the kiva walls other than a trench that had bared 5 feet of west-side 

 masonry. 



In 1921 the Kiva A depression contained approximately 4 feet of 

 sand and silt blown and washed in from all sides. Greasewood 4 to 5 

 feet high had taken root upon this fill (NGS Negs. 3018B ; 7641 A) ; 

 fallen stonework had banked up against the encircling wall and from 

 this pile we gathered the larger stones for future repairs (pi. 71, 

 upper). Excavation was monotonous pick-and-shovel work; teams 

 and scrapers removed the overturned earth. 



The masonry of Kiva A is chiefly of laminate sandstone with 

 intermittent banding and a noticeable lack of the softer, friable 

 sandstone so abundant in Chaco Canyon. The highest intact masonry, 

 at the west, stood 11 feet 5 inches above the floor. It was here, in 

 this highest surviving section, that we noted three partially decayed 

 3-inch poles, presumably pine, embedded side by side in the stonework 

 at a height of 9 feet 7 inches and burned off just within the wall 

 facing. I assumed they represented the outer edge of the ceiling — the 



