Arizona weekly citizen. [volume] (Tucson, Ariz) 1880-1901, 1896-07-18
A PALEOLITRIC CITY.
An interesting Description Of AM
oient Dwellings.

L
taIne, which | have no doubt mark the
site Of a once populous village of abor-
igines. These ancient and mysterious
people have disappeared and left no
trace behind them except such mute
racofds ss these stone posts amidst frag-
menls of pottery and remains Of their
stone implements for grinding grain
and grass seed.
The stone posts undoubtedly mark
the site of their ancient dwellings. How
their dwellings were constructed is still
an enigma not easily solved. The stones
being set on end In the ground like a
line OF poets precludes the idea of their
being intended as foundation stones for
any superstructure of stone or adsbe,
but suggests that they were used as an
| chorsNr stakes to tie down some tent
like structure made of mats or skins.
Il all OF my wandeTings in this terri
tory and New Mexico and California |
have never before found any ruins like
these. There are no walls left, no traces
OF adobe structures, no mounds or great
heaps OF stones such ss we generally
expect TO see upon the site Of an ancient
village.
In the rapid and imperfect survey l
was eole to make during this visit OF
day, found the well marked groups Of
dwellings shown by the stone posts. In
the first or upper group there are re-
m n fnl lnr n 10
dwellings which must have had three or
four rooms each, and in the second or
lower group there are remains of ten or
more single room houses, but one of
them has a partition through the mid
die
All these foundations or limits of
dwellings so marked by lines of stone
posts are with only one exception rec
tangular and obloDg in shape or true
psralieiOgEams. The stones are usually
only eight to twelve inches apart, and
being firmly and deeply set in the earth
have kept their upright position in
straight lines. The nature of the rock
is favorable to It's heading up into posts
like masses. 1t is hard firm granite
gneiss from the.sdjoining foot hills, but
so far as L could judge were not freshly
Quarried there but were at least in part |
selected from the abundant drift of the |
adjoining arrOyos, where the rock could |
be more conveniently secured. This |
gneiss heads out from the lodges in \
straight coiumn6r and tabular blocks |
and can be rift or split into post-l;ke |
masses. Two OF the blocks from one of |
the dwellings which you presented to |
the museum were described by me In |
one of your former issues of the CITIZEN
but 1t nsy be well to repeat in connec-
tlon with these descriptions that they
are three or four feet in length and
about six inches square and that the
greater part of their length Was buried |
IL the ground.
The dimensions OF the epeces enclosed
by these stone posts are usually SIX to
eight PAGES WIDE, or expressed in feet Is
to "a feet long and from 10 10 to Is feet
wide. Sone of the dwellings were 6x7
PAGES; some KS PAGES. One is II PAGES
long and pacss vide with partition
OF posts across The middle, thus iudicat-
ing dwelling OF two rooms, each l5xlS
feet. One dwelling appears to have
been 6x14 PAGES.
From the fact that all Of the founda-
tions or limits Of the dwellings marked
by posts are measurable by pacing with
out Fraction q, conclude that they we're
originally L. id out or measured 10 that
way.
find also that the structures were
built upon east and west lines; this is
the direction of the longest sides of the
parallelograme. This may be due to the
fact that the general slope of the ground G
is southwark. and not TO any idea of
to the points of the compass {
or the suns path.
The ruins of the upper group are {
more complex, and are more extensive.
The one exception noted to the general
rule Of square or right-angled corners
has straight front with one rectangu-
lar room Is by 27 feet with a line of
stone posts extending each way and {
gradually curving around, thus enclos- I
ing considerable space, perhaps 80 feet
or 80 PAGES in its longest direction. This
ruin faces the south. The poste on the I
north eide appear TO have been disturb
ed and some of them dug up and the t
outlines OF the structure are there OBJ q
scure. t
In another place found q ruin OF
dwelling OK three rooms. each about six t
PAGES by seven. At another ruin there
s a straight line of posts "a PAGES long, d
With an end line 10 PAGES long. q
| measured 10 all the remnants OF c
.ourteen dwellings. but it was evident o
hat there are many more and it may be
hat there are groups Of ruins higher up {
he slope. Q
l will be necessary TO make careful c
L trument8l survey of these runs to | e
determine their relative positions and the d
listance they are from each other. t
Tnara i doproccinp i1o /,
If these villages formed apparently by
hrowing up an earth embankment.
" Nhether this is remnant OF an sncient
water reservoir or whether, as lie posi-
lie, it made the side of large adobe Il
building | could not determine. / am o
Inclined, however, to the opinion that it o.
vas a reservoir for water and that the \
,ater was brought from the sdjoing ~
anyon. IL this was the fact, traces of 8
itch or canal should be found. 81
The abundant fragments of pottery, II
n OF olles, confirm the evidences Of an -
ient human occupation. This pottery "
8 all in fragments, and Is of the pieinest
oarf est description, aud was made of u
oRrse grsnitic mud or adobe mud of the
iciDity, judging by the abundance Of
he small.scales O. mica. 1t is all OF the y
mooth variety, not thumb marked and q
My two fragments with decorative
were found. o.
/ noted many broken fragments of IL
lard black rock such as is used for pes o
le, one morter-like cavity worn in the ol
ock and one large worn out metate.
IL you deem this letter worthy of the o.
pace it would occupy in your paper, it :,
J at your service. but / hope to go over al
be ground egain with you to make h
xact measurements of this curious and
itherto comparatively unknown palace
thic city. W
WIN. p. BLAKE. o,
University of Arizona. II
pl
Judge J. ID. Beihune returned to
80