24 INDIANS OF THE SOlTHWKST. 



the eneni}' might approach. But because of their 

 pecuhar arrangement and construction such })uil(Hngs 

 were often easily defended. Tliey were built either 

 in the form of a rectangle or a semicircle around a court 

 from which they were terraced back toward the outer 

 wall which had no openings low enough to be reachefl 

 by the enemy. Some of these like Pueblo Bonito in 

 Chaco Canyon had hundreds of rooms. A great 

 number of villages w^ere placed on the tops of mesas the 

 walls of which were steep enough to furnish a consider- 

 able degree of protection. Puye, one of the largest 

 ruins on the Pajarito Plateau, is so situated. In many 

 cases a location w^as chosen at the head of a canyon, 

 on each side and at the end of which the houses were 

 built making it impossible for the enemy to completely 

 surround the settlement. There are ruins in many 

 places which both from their character and their 

 location seem to have been built solel}' for defense. 

 These are round or square towers of considerable 

 height which have a few^ small openings adapted by 

 their size and location for the observation of the enemy 

 and for the discharge of arrows. They are usually 

 placed so as to command a wdde view of the surround- 

 ing country, often being perched on the top of a boulder 

 or block of stone. ^A'idely scattered are small ruins 

 consisting of a few rooms on three sides of a small plaza 

 in which is a circular room known as a kiva, or estufa. 

 Near by is usually a rubbish pile in which human 

 remains are almost always found, showing that they 

 were generally used as burial j)]aces also. 



