4 PKOCEBDINGS OP THE IsTATIOlSrAL MUSEUM vol. 77 



BETATAKIN AND THE KAYENTA DISTRICT 



Betatakin occupies a large cave in the north wall of an unnamed 

 south fork of Laguna Canyon/ which latter empties into Tyende 

 Creek at Marsh Pass. (PL 2.) About 15 miles northeast of the Pass 

 is Kayenta,^ founded by Wetherill and Colville as a trading post 

 late in 1909 and since grown into an oasis of peculiar charm — the 

 home of several white families, chiefly associated with the local 

 Navajo Indian hospital and its related activities. 



To archeologists an indefinitely bordered area surrounding this 

 settlement is known as the " Kayenta district." Its rugged canyons 

 were anciently inhabited by a semisedentary people whose evolving 

 culture has been clearly portrayed by Kidder and Guernsey.^ Fol- 

 lowing the so-called Basket Makers, first known agriculturists of the 

 Southwest, came three other equally distinct stages of tribal and ma- 

 terial development to culminate in those great, communal towns of 

 the Pueblo III * period — Betatakin, Keet Seel, and Inscription 

 House. 



Throughout the centuries required for this perfectly obvious 

 sequence of cultures and with a vigor that increased as each genera- 

 tion passed, established villages in the Kayenta district were recur- 

 rently attacked by more warlike, nomadic peoples. The identity of 

 these wandering hunters remains undetermined but the fact of their 

 former presence as disturbers of tranquil community life is evi- 

 denced here, as in other parts of the Pueblo area. 



1 So named from the ponds that formerly marked its middle course. Gregory (1916, 

 p. 48) says : "At the time the topographic map was made (1883) Laguna Canyon held a 

 number of lakes which have since disappeared in consequence of recent deep trenching of 

 the alluvial fill." 



Throughout the Kayenta district in 1908 and 1909, that which Gregory designates 

 " Laguna Canyon " was widely known as the Segi ; that which he names " Tyende Creek," 

 running from Marsh Pass to the Rio San Juan, was commonly called Laguna Creek. 

 Fools were then present in the open valley south of Tyende Mesa ; Segi Canyon was 

 already deeply trenched, but its arroyo banks clearly showed the stratified deposits formerly 

 laid down in placid ponds. Segi Canyon is the To-wan-aho-che Creek of the General Land 

 OfiQce map of 1887 ; the To-wan-on-Cheo Creek of the presidential proclamation dated 

 March 20, 1909, and hereinafter mentioned. " Tyende Creek " is obviously an erroneous 

 recording of " Kayenta Creek." 



^ Individuals will naturally differ in attempting to record, with English characters, the 

 pronunciation of Indian place names. For example, Kaenti is the spelling first used by 

 Cummings (1910) ; Kayenta, that subsequently employed by the same writer, by other 

 explorers and by Federal cartographers. Segi Canyon (Gregory, 1916) has been pub- 

 lished both as Sagi (Cummings, 1910; Kidder and Guernsey, 1919, 1921) and Sagie 

 (Cummings, 1915; Judd, 1918). Keet Seel (Gregory, 1916; presidential proclamation ot 

 March 14, 1912) has been printed Kitsil (Cummings, 1910), Kitsiel (Fewkes, 1911), and 

 Kietsiel (Kidder, 1924). Because of these and other possible variants it seems not im- 

 probable that the orthography employed by Gregory (1916) in his comprehensive study of 

 the Navajo country will be adopted by most observers henceforth reporting upon the 

 divers interests of this fascinating region. 



3 1921 ; 1921a. See also Kidder and Guernsey, 1919 ; Kidder, 1924. 



* A designation now accepted by most students of Pueblo archeology. See Kidder, 1927. 



