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Show OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. XXXV of between a thousand and fifteen hundred persons. The extremes of the habitable floor were 1,500 feet apart, while from the rear wall of the cave to the edge of the precipice was about half that distance. The floor of the two wider portions of the cave was thickly studded with dwellings, built of square stones laid in mortar, all of which were in ruins. An edifice of grander proportions, three stories in height, and almost as well preserved as in the day of its occupation, nearly filled up the narrow space in front of a dividing rock projection. It stood 300 feet from the bed of the cafion, and was accessible only at one point, where an accumulation of rocky ddbris formed a steep sloping ascent. Many distinctive architectural features were noted. All the materials out of which the structure was built had been worked by stone implements, as was evidenced by the rough chiseling of the blocks. Cross pieces were laid upon the joists for the flooring of the towers, and upon these pieces twigs about the diameter of a man's finger were arranged side by side, but in series which formed a peculiar mosaic of angles and squares. In each division of the cave was found one circular ' structure, which probably was a place of assemblage for religious rites or amusement. Structures of this kind are common in that section of the country, but these were different, in many respects, from any before examined by the members of the party, and especially different in their interior ornamentation, which was quite elaborate. In one of them a wide band was laid on in bright durable colors, resembling a Greek fret, with narrower bands above and below, and with the interior spaces filled with curious artistic designs, the meaning of which is unknown. The roofs of the building were gone and the floors were covered with rocky debris. Good photographs of this village were obtained and a survey was completed for the preparation of a model. Among the debris of the declivity two skeletons were found buried in a peutagonally- shaped cyst. They were in a sitting posture, having the knees drawn upward toward the chin and the hands crowed on the breast. The bodies were wrapped in coarse nets made of some vegetable fibre, and, with the |
