Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895: Seventeenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1895-1896, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1898, pages 519-744 — John Shaqi
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895: Seventeenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1895-1896, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1898, pages 519-744Fewkes, Jesse Walter
History
Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895: Seventeenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1895-1896, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1898, pages 519-744
The two largest of the Red-rock cliff houses to which I shall refer
were named Honanki or Bear-house and Palatki or Red-house. The former
of these, as I learned from the names scribbled on its walls, had
previously been visited by white men, but so far as I know it has
never been mentioned in archeological literature. My attention was
called to it by Mr Schürmann, at whose hospitable ranch I outfitted
for my reconnoissance into the Red-rock country. The smaller ruin,
Palatki, we discovered by chance during our visit, and while it is
possible that some vaquero in search of a wild steer may have visited
the neighborhood before us, there is every reason to believe that the
ruin had escaped even the notice of these persons, and, like Honanki,
was unknown to the archeologist.
The two ruins, Honanki and Palatki, are not the only ones in the lone
canyon where we encamped. Following the canyon a short distance from
its entrance, there was found to open into it from the left a
tributary, or so-called box canyon, the walls of which are very
precipitous. Perched on ledges of the cliffs there are several rows of
fortifications or walls of masonry extending for many yards. It was
impossible for us to enter these works, even after we had clambered up
the side of the precipice to their level, so inaccessible were they to
our approach. These "forts" were probably for refuge, but they are ill
adapted as points of observation on account of the configuration of
the canyon. Their masonry, as examined at a distance with a field
glass, resembles that of Palatki and Honanki.
I was impressed by the close resemblance between the large cliff
houses of the Red-rocks, with their overhanging roof of rock, and
those of the San Juan and its tributaries in northern New Mexico.
While it is recognized that cliff houses have been reported from Verde
valley, I find them nowhere described, and our lack of information
about them, so far as they are concerned, may have justified
Nordenskiöld's belief that "the basin of the Colorado actually
contains almost all the cliff dwellings of the United States." As the
Gila flows into the Colorado near its mouth, the Red-rock ruins may in
a sense be included in the Colorado basin, but there are many and
beautiful cliff houses higher up near the sources of the Gila and its
tributary, the Salt. In calling attention to the characteristic cliff
dwellings of the Red-rocks I am making known a new region of ruins
closely related to those of Canyon de Tségi, or Chelly, the San Juan
and its tributaries.
Although the cliff houses of Verde valley had been known for many
years, and the ruins here described are of the same general character,
anyone who examines Casa Montezuma, on Beaver creek, and compares it
with Honanki, will note differences of an adaptive nature. The one
feature common to Honanki and the "Cliff Palace" of Mancos canyon is
the great overhanging roof of the cavern, which, in that form, we miss
in Casa Montezuma (figure 246).[26]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account