. Dance rock and kiva, Walpi.]
Little masonry now remains on this site, but here and there a fragment
aids in defining the general plan of the pueblo. In general form the
village was a large rectangle with a line of buildings across its
center, dividing it into two unequal courts, and a projecting wing on
the west side. As may be seen from the illustration, one end of the ruin
forms a clearly defined rectangular court, composed of buildings mostly
two rooms deep. Here, as in other ruins of Tusayan, the arrangement
about inclosed courts is in contrast with the parallelism of rows, so
noticeable a feature in the occupied villages. At the east end of the
ruin are several curious excavations. The soft sandstone has been
hollowed out to a depth of about 10 inches, in prolongation of the
outlines of adjoining rooms. Such excavation to obtain level floors is
quite unusual among the pueblo builders; it was practiced to a very
small extent, and only where it could be done with little trouble. Any
serious inequality of surface was usually incorporated in the
construction, as will be noticed at Walpi (Pl. XXIII). Vestiges of
masonry indicating detached rooms were seen in each of the courts of the
main rectangle.
On the slope of the hill, just above the broad ledge previously
described, there is a fine spring, but no trace of a trail connecting it
with the pueblo could be found.
This village was advantageously placed for defense, but not to the same
degree as Payupki, illustrated in Pl. XIII.
PAYUPKI.
The ruin called Payupki (Pl. XIII) occupies the summit of a bold
promontory south of the trail, from Walpi to Oraibi, and about 6 miles
northwest from Mashongnavi. The outer extremity of this promontory is
separated from the mesa by a deep notch. The summit is reached from the
mesa by way of the neck, as the outer point itself is very abrupt, much
of the sandstone ledge being vertical. A bench, 12 or 15 feet below the
summit and in places quite broad, encircles the promontory. This bench
also breaks off very abruptly.
As may be seen from the plan, the village is quite symmetrically laid
out and well arranged for defense. It is placed at the mesa end of the
promontory cap, and for greater security the second ledge has also been
fortified. All along the outer margin of this ledge are the remains of a
stone wall, in some places still standing to a height of 1 or 2 feet.
This wall appears to have extended originally all along
|