Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff PalaceFewkes, Jesse Walter
History
Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace
Fewkes, Jesse Walter
Colorado -- Antiquities; Mesa Verde National Park (Colo.)
The inclosed space west of rooms 71 and 73 is separated from the rear of
the cave by a high wall which shuts off entrance on this side. The
series of rooms numbered 71 to 74, and the two rooms west of these,
form, with the banquette and the neighboring plaza, what is here
arbitrarily designated the Speaker-chief's House, the walls of which
consist of some of the finest masonry in Cliff Palace. It is protected
on the western side by a high, well-plastered wall extending southward
from the corner of room 72, so placed as to shield the plaza from storms
from this side. The banquette south of rooms 72 and 73 is also finely
plastered, and is approached from the plaza by a single step. This
banquette probably was designed for the use of the Speaker-chief, but a
similar structure on the eastern side of the plaza quarter served
another purpose.
The masonry, the doors and windows, and other structural features of the
Speaker-chief's House are the best in Cliff Palace. Lintels, jambs, and
door and window sills are of smooth-dressed stones and project beyond
the wall. The rear rooms of this cluster extend to the roof of the cave,
being three stories high, while those in front are two stories in
height. The line of holes shown in plate 15 indicates the former
position of rafters, but all signs of woodwork have disappeared from
this section of the ruin.
On the western side of the Speaker-chief's House are two rooms, 79 and
80, likewise well built. The former has a banquette extending across the
eastern side, and the latter is triangular in shape, with the exterior
side rounded. The foundations of these rooms rest upon a large rock that
has settled and cracked, the crack extending vertically into the walls,
showing that it has developed since the wall was constructed.
The inclosures 76 to 78, extending to the cave roof, are more like
granaries for the storage of corn. They are built of flat stone slabs
placed on edge, and rest on bowlders that have fallen from the cave
roof, which is here lower than in the middle part of the cavern. Of
these inclosures, 78 is the best preserved, all holes in its angles
being skillfully closed with adobe mortar, so that even now if the
door were replaced it would be almost rat proof. The door opening is
square, and is situated at the western side. There is no adequate
evidence that these rooms served as turkey houses, as some have
interpreted them.
[Illustration: PLATE 20
AX WITH ORIGINAL HANDLE]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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