﻿134 



Cincinnati Society of Natural History. 



were built of sun-dried brick, faced with stone and covered with hard 

 cement. The lesser pyramid contained a passage-way which descends at 

 an angle of 30°. In this respect it resembled the great Pyramid of 

 Cheops. 



One of the most interesting villages that I visited is called Acoma. It 

 is situated on the headwaters of a stream which empties into the Rio del 

 Norte, and was first described by Nunez Cabeca de Vaca in 1536. 



Acoma is located upon the top of a high, flat rock, whose sides rise 

 vertically out of the surrounding plain to the height of 300 feet. 



The top of the rock embraces an area of ten acres. Here you find a 

 tank for water, which is 150 feet by 20 feet and 5 feet in depth. 



The population of Acoma is 350. It is 80 miles east of Zuni and 50 

 miles west of the Rio Grande. The houses are built of adobes. As you 

 go further south you find the Pueblos begin to use rough stone ; and the 

 Indians of Mexico and Yucatan used dressed stone. 



Wooden lintels were used for door and windows, and over some small 

 windows are found stone lintels of 18 inches in length. 



Mr. Albert Gallatin believed that the civilization of New Mexico was 

 derived from the South. He says "The agriculture of New Mexico did 

 not originate here and was not thence transferred northwardly ; the very 

 reverse is the case." Again he says: "The civilization of the Gila and 

 New Mexico was not of native growth ; it appears most certain that it could 

 not have been introduced from either the east, north or west. In either of 

 these directions those people were surrounded by wild nations, in the 

 hunter state, and cultivated nothing." As we all know, both the maize 

 and the cotton belong to semi-tropicalregions. 



We would now attempt to classify the different styles of architecture 

 possessed by the indigenous races of North America. 



1. The square, hewn stone structures of the people of Yucatan, the 

 City of Mexico and the neighboring regions. 



2. The square, adobe communal buildings of the Pueblo Indians of 

 New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. 



3. The round, mound-shaped dirt dwellings of the Mandans and Mini- 

 tarees. 



4. The birch-.bark wigwams of the Winnebagoes and Chippewas. 



5. The conical tent dwellings of the nomadic tribes. 



6. The rude shelters of accidentally occurring materials, such as are 

 used by the Digger Indians. 



1. The most civilized of our North American races were ignorant of 

 the groined arch, the cylindrical arch, and of the simple circular arch for 



