FEWKES] EXCAVATIONS AT CASA GRANDE, ARIZONA 325 



level with the lowest floor of the old ruin. The basal story of Casa 

 Grande was made solid by filling in earth between the foundation 

 Avails already constructed. Two buildings, Font's room and the 

 cluster in the southwest angle of the compound, were two stories 

 high, but all others, except of course the "Great Casa," were single- 

 storied. The size, structure, and contents of the new rooms indicate 

 that they were erected for public gatherings, and that domiciliary 

 use was subordinate to public use. 



The excavations contribute little to our knowledge of the age of 

 Casa Grande. No object of European manufacture was found in 

 the excavations, and the specimens obtained add nothing which 

 would be of aid in determining either the time Casa Grande was built 

 or when it was deserted. The specimens do not indicate Aztec cul- 

 ture or that of any other Mexican race, and suggest no culture 

 higher than modern Hopi or old Pima. While the question as to 

 who built Casa Grande remains as difficult to answer as ever, 

 archeology supports Pima traditions in affirming that the builders 

 of Casa Grande were the ancestors of the Hopis, Pimas, or some 

 closely allied stock. 



Some of the rooms of the compound were constructed on the same 

 plan as old Pima houses. They had in the floor two upright logs 

 set at equal distances from the walls to support the roof. Upon 

 these upright logs was placed a median horizontal ridge pole, bear- 

 ing rafters arranged side by side, the whole being covered with 

 reeds upon which was a thick layer of beaten clay. 



Almost every specimen found in the diggings was immediately 

 identified by the Pima laborers, so close was its resemblance to 

 objects used by the old people of their tribe. Thus, the stone balls 

 frequently found are identical with those still used in a kicking 

 game. 1 The wooden hoes and paddles are identical with similar 

 utensils of the Pimas used within the memory of the old people. 

 The reed cigarettes are the same kind as those made bv Pimas 



1 The old Pima Indian, "Thin Leather," declared that a favorite game of 

 the Casa Grande girls was called toka, and that the cane game kiuskwut was 

 also known to the inhabitants of Casa Grande. 



In the game toka a rawhide rope, knotted at each end, was thrown with 

 sharpened sticks, the contestants being divided into two parties facing each 

 other, a hundred feet apart. It was while the girls of Casa Grande were 

 playing this game that the daughter of Morning Green was abducted by a 

 chief from Gila Crossing. 



