30 INDIANS OF THE SOUTHWEST. 



and in some cases had balconies below them on which a 

 landing from the ladders was made. These balconies 

 were supported by the large ceiling timbers which were 

 allowed to project beyond the walls for this purpose. 

 The lower stories were reached by hatchways and 

 ladders, either from the rooms above or from the roofs 

 when the building was terraced. 



Kivas. The kivas, peculiar rooms found in all large 

 ruins, are for the most part circular and below ground 

 and are ordinarily located in the courtyard. They 

 vary greatly in size from ten or twelve feet to thirty or 

 more feet in diameter. A firepit is usually found near 

 the center and in most cases there is an airshaft of some 

 size opening at the level of the floor and a masonry wall 

 or stone slab in front of the opening to prevent a direct 

 draft. It is not unusual to find masonry walls extend- 

 ing into the circular kivas for some feet, but the pur- 

 pose of such construction does not appear. They were 

 evidently entered by hatchways through the roofs 

 which were in all probability of construction similar to 

 those of the ordinary rooms. 



Types of Ruins. 



Cliff Palace. The largest and perhaps best known 

 cliff-dwelling is situated in the Mesa Verde region a few 

 miles southwest of Mancos, Colorado. It has been 

 named Clifif Palace and has been described by many 

 writers since it was first mentioned in public print about 



