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.)
No ceremonial opening, or sipapû, such as occurs in several other Cliff
Palace kivas, was found in kiva Q. At the place where this feature
usually appears the floor was broken, but as several of the Cliff Palace
kivas have no specialized sipapûs it is possible that this device may be
looked for in another opening in the floor. There are no sipapûs in the
Hano kivas of the East Mesa of the Hopi, and the priests of that pueblo
assert that the Tewa have no special hole in the kiva floor to represent
this ceremonial opening. Apparently the Pueblos of the Rio Grande are
like the Tewa of Hano in this respect. All the kivas of Spruce-tree
House and a number of those in Cliff Palace have this ceremonial
opening, thus following the Hopi rather than the Tewa custom. Whether
the fireplace was used by those who performed rites in kiva Q as a
symbolic opening into or from the "underworld" is unknown, to the
writer. The subterranean passage in kiva V leading to the fire-hole, but
not entering it, is interesting in this particular. Kiva V, however, as
pointed out, has in addition to the fire-hole a fine pottery-lined
sipapû corresponding to the sipapûs in Hopi kivas, but made in the solid
rock floor.
[Illustration: PLATE 26
_a_ Mugs from crematory
_b_ Dipper-bowl and corrugated vase
POTTERY]
KIVA S
This kiva is square, with rounded corners. Its height is 8 feet, and the
height of one of the pilasters above the floor 5 feet 10 inches. The
banquettes are 3 feet 3 inches above the floor. The diameter of the kiva
is 10 feet 4 inches.
The number of pilasters is 6; their average breadth is 20 inches. The
distance from flue to deflector, which is a slab of stone, is 3 feet 2
inches; the height of the deflector is 1 foot 7 inches and its width 3
feet.
From the deflector to the fire-hole the distance is 7 inches. The
diameter of the fire-hole is 2 feet, its depth 9 inches. There are 2
mural niches. The large banquette is 3 feet 6 inches broad. The shaft of
the flue, after passing 18 inches under the kiva wall, turns
southeastward 4 feet 4 inches and then takes a vertical course. The
masonry of kiva S is fairly good. A jar is set into one of the
banquettes, and was perhaps formerly used for containing sacred
meal.[60] This receptacle was left as found, and a slab of stone placed
slantingly above it to shield it from falling stones. Under the huge
rock above it there are light masonry walls outlining diminutive rooms
used possibly for storage but not for habitation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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