Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-10-06
CLIFF HOUSESPRESAGED
THE MODERN APARTMENT
Neil M. Judd Describes Ancient
Dwellings Found in Navajo
Indian Reservation.

The forerunner Of the modern apart
ment, house is described in a statement
issued by the Smithsonian Institution
detailing the work Of restoration per-
formed by Neil NJ. Judd of the United
States National Museum on a prehis-
toric cliff dwelling named Betatakin. or
hillside house." located In the Navajo
Indian reservation. in Arizona.
Mr.. Judd left the railroad at Flag
STAN. where he gathered a small force
of workmen. and followed the road
north about $50 miles to kayenta.
where the party QUILTED at the trading
post of John Wetherill and c. A. Col
Vile. From Kayenta they travelled by
pack train about twenty miles to the
aforementioned ruin. which is located
in a branch Of Sagie canyon. about
eight miles west of the Kayenta road
When the party made camp near the
ruined cliff dwelling toward the end
Of March there were two feet of snow
on the ground and the work OF restora-
ton was considerably handicapped by
the nearly impossible condition of the
roads the difficulty of securing Indians
to carry supplies and the scarcity of
food.
Interesting Cliff House.
Betatakin, or Hillside house. the ruin
selected for repair and restoration. is
one of the most interesting Cliff houses
in northern Arizona 1t consists OF
nearly 100 rooms, built on the sharply
slopinr floor of a crescent-shaped cave.
In parts Of the village the houses were
originally two and even three stories
in height The walls are OF stone on
bound together with ADOBE mor,ae. ne
ancient builders did not break joints
in their masonry-that is, one joint
frequently came directly above an
other-which readily accounts for the
weakening of the ancient walls and
the gradual collapse of the entire
structure.
The roofs were constructed with
cedar or pine beams, overlaid with lay
ers Of willows, cedar bark, or grass.
and mud. in succession. In many cases
the front walls were built OF waite
construction instead Of stone-that is,
willows. placed upright. were bound TO
cross-pieces Embedded in the side walls,
and the whole covered with mud.
About half of the rooms were 1ouno
to he in a good state of preservation
with the roof still intact. Besides the
ordinary dwelling rooms and these open
courts of Betatakin, there are storage
rooms and ceremonial rooms, or kivas
these latter differing from similar
tanzuIar instead of circular. Here were
performed various sacred rites and
Ceremonies accompanying the religious
beliefs of these people.
From the number OF kivas in Beta
takin. it is evident that several clans
lived here, as it was customary for each
clan to use a separate kiva, and the
total numbe. of Inhabitants OF the clin
house was probably between 100 ano
$50.
Plan to Restore House.
Mr.. Judd's plan of work was not II
any sense to rebuild Betatakin, but te
restore the houses sufficiently to sug'
eest the original structure. Owing tt
the presence of hidden springs. q
considerable amount of water seep:
through the floor and rear walls
resulting in the disintegration OF the
mother rock and even the rum OF ane
stimulation of sand and earth which
had to be removed before the recon
struction could be begun. AS lar as
possible Mr.. Judd used the origina
After careful examination of the aoor-
isinal mortar and some experimental
ton. the best results were obtained by
using a half and half mixture OF sane
and red clay obtained along the SIDES
of the canyon and carried to the ruins
on the backs of Indians. Everything
possible was done to preserve the char-
acteristic appearance of clfn dwell
ing though it was necessary IN ie"
places to put iron braces in the outer
walls to prevent their falling.
Where necessary ladders constructed
of cedar poles. with crosspieces bound
with willows, were put in place. These
are replicas of ladders frequently found
in northern Arizona elm houses ana
were used only to make the clin dwell
ing more accessible to visitors. without
detracting from the atmosphere OF
the ruin. Trunks of trees. with the
branches as steps, were also placed as
ladders.
No Way to Estimate Age.
There is no way yet to estimate the
age of Betatakin. After this and neigh
horinr ruins have been studied more
thoroughly and their characterlstic
features compared with those of elm
dwellings of known antiquity. some es-
innate of the age may De maoe' ou'
this at present is Impossible.
Besides several interesting smaller
ruins in the Navajo National Monu-
ment. there are two other large clll
villages, Keet Seel Broken Pottery
Housed. and Inscription house, .ne az T.,
ter containing an inscription carved IN
the wall by a Spanish explorer during
the late seventeenth century, or about
100 years before Father Escalante made
his famous trip from Santa Fe to Utah
lake and back to the Hopi villages.
At the close of his work in Arizona.
Mr. Judd proceeded to Utah. where he
took charge of the annual expedition OF
the University OF Utah which this year
engaged in the excavation of very
large mound in Iron county. In this
were found more than forty houses
with walls constructed entirely or
adobe A large amount of material left
by the ancient inha bitants was collect
ed and divided between the National
4l,o -rni,r rait ~ q