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diff --git a/17487-8.txt b/17487-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5c12ff4 --- /dev/null +++ b/17487-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,1721 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Casa Grande Ruin, by Cosmos Mindeleff + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Casa Grande Ruin + Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the + Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1891-92, + Government Printing Office, Washington, 1896, pages 289-318 + +Author: Cosmos Mindeleff + +Release Date: January 10, 2006 [EBook #17487] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASA GRANDE RUIN *** + + + + +Produced by Louise Hope, Carlo Traverso, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + + + + + + * * * * * + + + CASA GRANDE RUIN + + BY + + COSMOS MINDELEFF + + + * * * * * + + +CONTENTS + +Introduction 295 + Location and character 295 + History and literature 295 +Description 298 + The Casa Grande group 298 + Casa Grande ruin 306 + State of preservation 306 + Dimensions 307 + Detailed description 309 + Openings 314 +Conclusions 318 + + +ILLUSTRATIONS + +Plate LI. Map of Casa Grande group 298 + LII. Ground plan of Casa Grande ruin 302 + LIII. General view of Casa Grande ruin 305 + LIV. Standing wall near Casa Grande 307 + LV. Western front of Casa Grande ruin 309 + LVI. Interior wall of Casa Grande ruin 310 + LVII. Blocked opening in western wall 312 + LVIII. Square opening in southern room 314 + LIX. Remains of lintel 317 + LX. Circular opening in northern room 319 + +Fig. 328. Map of large mound 301 + 329. Map of hollow mound 304 + 330. Elevations of walls, middle room 315 + + + * * * * * + + + CASA GRANDE RUIN + + By Cosmos Mindeleff + + + * * * * * + + +INTRODUCTION. + + +LOCATION AND CHARACTER. + +The Casa Grande ruin, situated near Gila river, in southern Arizona, is +perhaps the best known specimen of aboriginal architecture in the United +States, and no treatise on American antiquities is complete without a +more or less extended description of it. Its literature, which extends +over two centuries, is voluminous, but of little value to the practical +scientific worker, since hardly two descriptions can be found which +agree. The variations in size of the ruin given by various authors is +astonishing, ranging from 1,500 square feet to nearly 5 acres or about +200,000 square feet in area. These extreme variations are doubtless due +to difference of judgment as to what portion of the area covered by +remains of walls should be assigned to the Casa Grande proper, for this +structure is but a portion of a large group of ruins. + +So far as known to the writer no accurate plan of the Casa Grande ruin +proper has hitherto been made, although plans have been published; and +very few data concerning the group of which it forms a part are +available. It would seem, therefore, that a brief report presenting +accurate plans and careful descriptions may be of value, even though +no pretention to exhaustive treatment is made. + + +HISTORY AND LITERATURE. + +The earlier writers on the Casa Grande generally state that it was in +ruins at the time of the first Spanish invasion of the country, in 1540, +and quote in support of this assertion Castañeda's description of a ruin +encountered on the march.[1] Castañeda remarks that, "The structure +was in ruins and without a roof." Elsewhere he says that the name +"Chichilticale" was given to the place where they stopped because the +monks found in the vicinity a house which had been inhabited by a people +who came from Cibola. He surmises that the ruin was formerly a fortress, +destroyed long before by the barbarous tribes which they found in the +country. His description of these tribes seems to apply to the Apache. + + [Footnote 1: Castañeda in Ternaux-Compans. Voyage de Cibola. French + text, p. 1, pp. 41, 161-162. (The original text--Spanish--is in the + Lenox Library; no English translation has yet been published.)] + +The geographic data furnished by Castañeda and the other chroniclers of +Coronado's expedition is very scanty, and the exact route followed has +not yet been determined and probably never will be. So far as these data +go, however, they are against the assumption that the Chichilticale of +Castañeda is the Casa Grande of today. Mr. A. F. Bandelier, whose +studies of the documentary history of the southwest are well known, +inclines to the opinion that the vicinity of Old Camp Grant, on the Rio +San Pedro, Arizona, more nearly fill the descriptions. Be this as it +may, however, the work of Castañeda was lost to sight, and it is not +until more than a century later that the authentic history of the ruin +commences. + +In 1694 the Jesuit Father Kino heard of the ruin, and later in the same +year visited it and said mass within its walls. His secretary and usual +companion on his missionary journeys, Mange by name, was not with him on +this occasion, but in 1697 another visit was paid to the ruin and the +description recorded by Mange[1] in his diary heads the long list of +accounts extending down to the present time.[2] Mange describes the ruin +as consisting of-- + + A large edifice, the principal room in the center being four stories + high, and those adjoining it on its four sides three stories, with + walls 2 varas thick, of strong argamaso y baro (adobe) so smooth on + the inside that they resemble planed boards, and so polished that + they shine like Puebla pottery. + + [Footnote 1: An English translation is given by H. H. Bancroft, + Works, iv, p. 622, note. Also by Bartlett, Personal Narrative, 1854, + vol. ii, pp. 281-282; another was published by Schoolcraft, Hist. + Cond. and Pros. of Am. Ind., vol. iii, 1853, p. 301.] + + [Footnote 2: Quite an extensive list is given by Bancroft + (op. cit., pp. 622-625, notes), and by Bandelier in Papers Arch. + Inst. of Amer., American series, i, p. 11, note.] + +Mange also gives some details of construction, and states that in the +immediate vicinity there were remains of twelve other buildings, the +walls half fallen and the roofs burned out. + +Following Mange's account there were a number of descriptions of no +special value, and a more useful one written by Padre Font, who in 1775 +and 1776 made a journey to Gila and Colorado rivers and beyond. This +description[1] is quite circumstantial and is of especial interest +because it formed the basis of nearly all the accounts written up to the +time when that country came into our possession. According to this +authority-- + + The house forms an oblong square, facing exactly the four cardinal + points, and round about it there are ruins indicating a fence or + wall which surrounded the house and other buildings. The exterior or + plaza extends north and south 420 feet and east and west 260 feet. + + [Footnote 1: A number of copies of Font's Journal are known. + Bancroft gives a partial translation in op. cit., p. 623, note, as + does also Bartlett (op. cit., pp. 278-280); and a French translation + is given by Ternaux Compans, ix, Voyages de Cibola, appendix.] + +Font measured the five rooms of the main building, and recorded many +interesting details. It will be noticed that he described a surrounding +wall inclosing a comparatively large area; and nearly all the writers +who published accounts prior to our conquest of the country in 1846 +based their descriptions on Font's journal and erroneously applied his +measurement of the supposed circumscribing wall to the Casa Grande +proper. + +The conquest of the country by the "Army of the West" attracted +attention anew to the ruin, through the descriptions of Colonel Emory +and Captain Johnston. The expedition passed up the Gila valley, and +Colonel Emory, in his journal, gives a fanciful illustration and a +slight description. The journal of Captain Johnston contained a somewhat +better description and a rough but fairly good sketch. The best +description of that period, however, was that given by John Russell +Bartlett, in his "Personal Narrative," published in 1854. + +Bartlett observed that the ruin consists of three buildings, "all +included within an area of 150 yards." He described these buildings and +gave ground plans of two of them and elevations of the principal +structure. He also gave a translation of a portion of Font's journal, as +well as the previous description of Mange. He surmised that the central +room of the main building, and perhaps the whole structure, was used for +the storage of corn. + +Bartlett's account held place for nearly thirty years as the main +reliance of compilers, and it forms today one of the most circumstantial +and comprehensive descriptions extant. Other descriptions appeared at +intervals of a few years, some compiled from Bartlett and Font, others +based on personal observation, but none of them containing anything new, +until the account of Mr. A. F. Bandelier, published some ten years +ago,[1] is reached. + + [Footnote 1: Archæological Inst. of Amer., 5th Ann. Rep., 1884.] + +Mr. Bandelier described the large group, of which the Casa Grande forms +a part, and gave its dimensions as 400 meters (1,300 feet) north and +south by 200 meters (650 feet) east and west. He also described and gave +measurements of the Casa Grande proper and discusses its place in the +field of aboriginal architecture. In a later publication[1] he discussed +the ruin at somewhat greater length, and presented also a rough sketch +plan of the group and ground plans of the Casa Grande and of the mound +north of it. He gave a short history of the ruin and quite an extended +account of the Pima traditions concerning it. He considered the Casa +Grande a stronghold or fortress, a place of last resort, the +counterpart, functionally, of the blockhouse of the early settlers of +eastern United States. + + [Footnote 1: Papers Archæol. Inst. of Amer., Amer. ser., iv, + Cambridge, 1892, p. 453 et sec.] + +In 1888 Mr. F. H. Cushing presented to the Congrès International des +Américanistes[1] some "Preliminary notes" on his work as director of the +Hemenway southwestern archeological expedition. Mr. Cushing did not +describe the Casa Grande, but merely alluded to it as a surviving +example of the temple, or principal structure, which occurred in +conjunction with nearly all the settlements studied. As Mr. Cushing's +work was devoted, however, to the investigation of remains analogous to, +if not identical with, the Casa Grande, his report forms a valuable +contribution to the literature of this subject, and although not +everyone can accept the broad inferences and generalizations drawn by +Mr. Cushing--of which he was able, unfortunately, to present only a mere +statement--the report should be consulted by every student of +southwestern archeology. + + [Footnote 1: Berlin meeting, 1888; Compte-Rendu, Berlin, 1890, + p. 150 et seq.] + +The latest contribution to the literature of the Casa Grande is a report +by Dr. J. Walter Fewkes,[1] also of the Hemenway expedition, under the +title "On the present condition of a ruin in Arizona called Casa +Grande." Two magnificent illustrations are presented, engravings from +photographs, showing general views of the ruin, as well as a number of +views depicting details, and the ground plan presented at the end of the +report is the best so far published. It is unfortunate that this author +was not able to give more time to the study of the ruin; yet his report +is a valuable contribution to our knowledge concerning the Casa Grande. + + [Footnote 1: Jour. of Amer. Ethn. and Arch., Cambridge, 1892, vol. + ii, page 179 et seq.] + + + + +DESCRIPTION. + + +THE CASA GRANDE GROUP. + +The Casa Grande has been variously placed at from 2 leagues to 2 miles +south of Gila river. The writer has never traversed the distance from +the ruin to the river, but the ruin is about a mile from Walker ranch, +which is well known in that neighborhood, and about half a mile from the +river. This question, however, is not of much importance, as the ruin is +easily found by anyone looking for it, being located directly on one of +the stage routes from Casa Grande station, on the Southern Pacific +railroad, to Florence, Arizona, and about 9 miles below, or west of, the +latter place. + +The name Casa Grande has been usually applied to a single structure +standing near the southwestern corner of a large area covered by mounds +and other débris, but some writers have applied it to the southwestern +portion of the area and even to the whole area. The latter seems the +proper application of the term, but to avoid confusion, where both the +settlement as a whole and that portion which has formed the theme of so +many writers are referred to, the settlement will be designated as the +Casa Grande group, and the single structure with standing walls as the +Casa Grande ruin. + +Probably no two investigators would assign the same limits to the area +covered by the group, as the margins of this area merge imperceptibly +into the surrounding country. The accompanying map (plate LI) shows this +area as interpreted by the writer. The surface covered by well defined +remains, as there shown, extends about 1,800 feet north and south and +1,500 feet east and west, or a total area of about 65 acres. + +[Illustration: Pl. LI: Map of Casa Grande Group.] + +The Casa Grande ruin, as the term is here used, occupies a position near +the southwestern corner of the group, and it will be noticed that its +size is insignificant as compared with that of the entire group, or even +with the large structure in the north-central part of it. The division +of the group into northern and southern portions, which has been made by +some writers, is clearly shown on the map; but this division is more +apparent than real. The contour interval on the map is one foot--a +sufficiently small interval to show the surface configuration closely +and to bring out some of its peculiarities. Depressions are shown by +dotted contours. It will be noticed that while most of the mounds which +mark the sites of former structures rise but 10 feet or less above the +surrounding level, the profiles vary considerably, some being much more +smoothed off and rounded than others, the former being shown on the map +by even, "flowing" contours, while the latter are more irregular; and it +will be further noticed that the irregularity reaches its maximum in the +vicinity of the Casa Grande ruin proper, where the ground surface was +more recently formed, from the fall of walls that were standing within +the historical period. + +External appearance is a very unsafe criterion of age, although in some +cases, like the present, it affords a fair basis for hypothesis as to +comparative age; but even in this case, where the various portions of +the group have presumably been affected alike by climatic and other +influences, such hypothesis, while perhaps interesting, must be used +with the greatest caution. Within a few miles of this place the writer +has seen the remains of a modern adobe house whose maximum age could not +exceed a decade or two, yet which presented an appearance of antiquity +quite as great as that of the wall remains east and southeast of the +Casa Grande ruin. + +The application of the hypothesis to the map brings out some interesting +results. In the first place, it may be seen that in the lowest mounds, +such as those in the northwestern corner of the sheet, on the southern +margin, and southwest of the well-marked mound on the eastern margin, +the contours are more flowing and the slopes more gentle than in others. +This suggests that these smoothed mounds are older than the others, and, +further, that their present height is not so great as their former +height; and again, under this hypothesis, it suggests that the remains +do not belong to one period, but that the interval which elapsed between +the abandonment of the structures whose sites are marked by the low +mounds and the most recent abandonment was long. In other words, this +group, under the hypothesis, affords another illustration of a fact +constantly impressed on the student of southwestern village remains, +that each village site marks but an epoch in the history of the tribe +occupying it--a period during which there was constant, incessant +change, new bands or minor divisions of the tribe appearing on the +scene, other divisions leaving the parent village for other sites, and +the ebb and flow continuing until at some period in its history the +population of a village sometimes became so reduced that the remainder, +as a matter of precaution, or for some trifling reason, abandoned it en +masse. This phase of pueblo life, more prominent in the olden days than +at present, but still extant, has not received the prominence it +deserves in the study of southwestern remains. Its effects can be seen +in almost every ruin; not all the villages of a group, nor even all the +parts of a village, were inhabited at the same time, and estimates of +population based on the number of ruins within a given region, and even +those based on the size of a given ruin, must be materially revised. As +this subject has been elsewhere[1] discussed, it can be dismissed here +with the statement that the Casa Grande group seems to have formed no +exception to the general rule, but that its population changed from time +to time, and that the extent of the remains is no criterion of the +former population. + + [Footnote 1: See pp. 179-261 of this Report, "Aboriginal Remains in + Verde Valley."] + +It will be noticed that in some of the mounds, noticeably those in the +immediate vicinity of the Casa Grande ruin, the surface is very +irregular. In this instance the irregularity indicates a recent +formation of surface; for at this point many walls now marked only by +mounds were standing within the historical period. External contour is +of course a product of erosion, yet similarity of contour does not +necessarily indicate either equal erosion or equal antiquity. Surface +erosion does not become a prominent factor until after the walls have +fallen, and one wall may easily last for a century or two centuries +longer than another similarly situated. The surface erosion of a +standing wall of grout, such as these under discussion, is very slight; +photographs of the Casa Grande ruin, extending over a period of sixteen +years, and made from practically the same point of view, show that the +skyline or silhouette remained essentially unchanged during that period, +every little knob and projection remaining the same. It is through +sapping or undermining at the ground surface that walls are destroyed. +An inspection of the illustrations accompanying this paper will show +what is meant by sapping: the external walls are cut away at the ground +surface to a depth varying from a few inches to nearly 2 feet. After a +rain the ground, and that portion of the walls at present below its +surface, retains moisture much longer than the part of the walls which +stands clear; the moisture rises by capillary attraction a foot or two +above the ground surface, rendering the walls at this level softer than +elsewhere, and as this portion is more exposed to the flying sand which +the wind sweeps over the ground it is here that erosion attains its +maximum. The wall is gradually cut away at and just above the ground +surface until finally the base becomes too small to support it and it +falls en masse. Then and not till then surface erosion becomes an +important factor and the profile of the mass becomes finally rounded. +But it will be readily seen that a slight difference of texture, or +thickness, or exposure, or some trifling difference too minute for +observation, might easily add many decades to the apparent age of a +mound. The walls once fallen, however, the rounding or smoothing of the +mounds would probably proceed at an equal rate throughout the group, and +study of the profile gives a fairly good estimate as to the comparative +age of the mounds. On this basis the most ancient mounds are those +specified above, while the most recent are those in the immediate +vicinity of the Casa Grande ruin. This estimate accords well with the +limited historical data and with the Pima traditions, which recount that +the Casa Grande ruin was the last inhabited village in this vicinity. + +[Illustration: Fig. 328.--Map of large mound.] + +Probably intermediate in time between the Casa Grande ruin and the +rounded mounds described above should be placed the large structure +occupying the northern-central part of the map. This mound is deserving +of more than a passing notice. It consists of two mounds, each four or +five times the size of the Casa Grande ruin, resting on a flat-topped +pedestal or terrace about 5 feet above the general level. The summits of +these mounds, which are nearly flat, are some 13 feet above this level. +The sides of the mounds slope very sharply, and have suffered somewhat +from erosion, being cut by deep gullies, as shown in figure 328, which +is an enlargement from the map. It has been stated that these structures +were mounds, pure and simple, used for sacrifice or worship, resembling +somewhat the well-known pyramid of Cholula; but there is no doubt that +they are the remains of house-structures, for a careful examination of +the surface on the slopes, reveals the ends of regular walls. The height +is not exceptional, the mound on the east being less than 3 feet lower, +while the one on the southeast lacks less than 4 feet of its height. The +characteristic feature, however, and one difficult to explain, except on +the hypothesis stated, is the sharp slope of the sides. It will be +noticed that the raised base or terrace on which the mounds are located +is not perfectly flat, but on the contrary has a raised rim. This rim +seems quite inconsistent with the theory which has been advanced that +the terrace was built up solidly as a terrace or base, as in that case +it would seem natural that the slope from the base of the mounds to the +edge of the terrace would be continuous. + +There is an abundance of room between the crest of the rim and the base +of the terrace for a row of single rooms, inclosing a court within which +the main structures stood, or such a court may have been covered, wholly +or partly with clusters of rooms, single storied outside, but rising in +the center, in two main clusters, three or more stories high. Such an +agglomeration of rooms might under certain conditions produce the result +seen here, although a circumscribing heavy wall, occupying the position +of the crest of the rim and inclosing two main clusters each rising +three or more stories, might also produce this result. The difficulty +with the latter hypothesis is, however, that under it we should expect +to find a greater depression between the base of the mounds and the edge +of the terrace. The most reasonable hypothesis, therefore, is that the +space between the base of the mounds and the edge of the terrace was +occupied by rooms of one story. This would also help to explain the +steepness of the slopes of the mounds themselves. The walls of the +structures they represent, being protected by the adjacent low walls of +the one-story rooms, would not suffer appreciably by undermining at the +ground level, and if the central room or rooms of each cluster were +higher than the surrounding rooms, as is the case in the Casa Grande +ruin, the exterior walls, being usually heavier than the inner walls, +would be the last to succumb, the clusters would be filled up by the +disintegration of the inner walls, and not until the spaces between the +low one-story walls surrounding the central cluster were nearly filled +up would the pronounced disintegration of the outer walls of the +structures commence. At that period the walls were probably covered and +protected by debris dropping from above, and possibly the profile of the +mounds was already established, being only slightly modified by surface +erosion since. + +[Illustration: Pl. LII: Ground Plan of Casa Grande Ruin.] + +About the center of the eastern side of the terrace, and also on the +western side, the water which falls on the surface of the structure is +discharged through rather pronounced depressions at these points. These +depressions are not the work of running water, though doubtless +emphasized by that agency, but represent low or open spaces in the +original structure, probably passageways or gateways. Furthermore, +before or inside each gateway there is a slightly depressed area, just +where we would expect to find it under our hypothesis, and showing that +the process of filling in is not yet completed. If the structure were to +remain undisturbed for some decades longer these spaces would doubtless +be filled up from material washed from the mounds, giving eventually a +continuous slope from the base of the mounds to the edge of the terrace. + +On the eastern margin of the map and in the southeastern corner two +small and sharply defined mounds, differing in character from any others +of the group, are represented. That shown on the eastern margin rises +about 6 feet and the other about 10 feet above the surrounding level, +and both stand out alone, no other remains occurring within a hundred +yards in any direction. These mounds seem a thing apart from the other +remains in the group; and it is probable that they represent the latest +period in the occupancy of this site, or possibly a period subsequent to +its final abandonment as a place of residence. Analogous remains occur +in conjunction with some large ruins in the north, and there they +represent single rooms, parts of the original structure kept in a fair +state of preservation by occasional repairs while the remainder of the +village was going to ruin, and used as farming outlooks long after the +site was abandoned as a place of residence. As these farming outlooks +have been discussed at some length in another paper[1] it is not +necessary here to enlarge upon their function and the important part +they play in Pueblo architecture. If the high mounds in question mark, +as supposed, the sites of farming outlooks such as those which are found +in the north, they indicate that the occupancy of the region in which +they occur was continued after the abandonment of the Casa Grande +structure by the people who built it or by people of similar habits and +customs. + + [Footnote 1: A Study of Pueblo Architecture; 8th Ann. Rep. Bur. + Eth., 1891, pp. 86, 227, and elsewhere.] + +An inspection of the map will show a number of depressions, some of +quite large area, indicated by dotted contour lines. The principal one +occurs a little west of the center of the area, and is worth more than a +passing notice since similar structures are widely distributed +throughout this region. It may be roughly characterized as a mound with +excavated center. The ground for some distance about the structure +(except for two depressions discussed later) is quite flat. From this +flat surface as a base the structure rises to a height of 5 feet. From +the exterior it has the appearance of an ordinary mound, but on reaching +the top the interior is found to be hollowed out to a depth which even +at the present day is below the surrounding surface, although not below +the depressions adjoining. The main structure or mound is shown in +figure 329 (an enlargement from the map). It measures on top of the +crest 150 feet from north to south and about 80 feet from east to west, +but covers a ground area of 200 feet by 120 feet or over half an acre. +The crest is of the same height throughout, except for slight elevations +on the eastern and western sides and a little knoll or swell in the +southwestern corner. There is no indication of any break in the +continuity of the crest such as would be found were there openings or +gateways to the interior. The bottom of the depression in the main +structure is at present about a foot below the surrounding ground +surface, but it must have been originally considerably more than this, +as the profile indicates long exposure to atmospheric erosion and +consequent filling of the interior. No excavation was made and the +character of the construction can not be determined, but the mound is +apparently a simple earth structure--not laid up in blocks, like the +Casa Grande ruin. + +[Illustration: Fig. 329.--Map of hollow mound.] + +[Illustration: Pl. LIII: General View of Casa Grande.] + +To the east and to the west are two large depressions, each about 5 feet +below the surrounding ground surface, evidently the places whence the +material for the construction of the mound was obtained. Yet the amount +of material removed from these excavations must have been considerably +in excess of that used in the construction of the mound, and this excess +was doubtless utilized in neighboring constructions, since it is hardly +to be supposed that it was carried away to any considerable distance. + +The purpose of this hollow mound, which is a fair type of many similar +structures found in this region, is not clear. Mr. Frank Hamilton +Cushing, while director of the Hemenway southwestern archeological +expedition, found a number of these structures and excavated some of +them. From remains thus found he concluded that they were sun-temples, +as he termed them, and that they were covered with a roof made of coiled +strands of grass, after a manner analogous to that in which pueblo +baskets are made. A somewhat similar class of structures was found by +the writer on the upper Rio Verde, but these were probably thrashing +floors. Possibly the structure under discussion was for a similar +purpose, yet its depth in proportion to its size was almost too great +for such use. The question must be left for determination if possible by +excavation. + +In the southern central part of the map is shown another excavation, +covering a larger area than any of the others, of very irregular outline +and from 3 to 4 feet deep. It is apparently older than the others and +probably furnished the material for the house structures northeast and +southwest of it. Bordering the depression on the south there are some +low mounds, almost obliterated, which probably were the sites of other +house structures. + +Scattered about the area shown on the map there are several small +depressions, usually more regular in outline than those described. The +best example is situated near the northeastern corner of the area. It is +situated in the point of a low promontory, is about 3 feet deep, almost +regularly oval in outline, and measures about 50 by 100 feet. A similar +depression less than 2 feet deep occurs near the northwest corner of the +area, and immediately south of the last there is another, more irregular +in outline, and nearly 3 feet deep. There are also some small +depressions in the immediate vicinity of the Casa Grande ruin and of the +mounds north of it. + +With a single exception none of these depressions are so situated that +they could be used as reservoirs for the storage of water collected from +the surface, and the catchment area of the depressions is so small and +the rate of evaporation in this area so great that their use as +reservoirs is out of the question. It is probable that all of the +smaller depressions represent simply sites where building material was +obtained. Possibly the ground at these points furnished more suitable +material than elsewhere, and, if so, the builders may have taken the +trouble to transport it several hundred yards rather than follow the +usual practice of using material within a few feet of the site. This +hypothesis would explain the large size of the depressions, otherwise an +anomalous feature. + + +CASA GRANDE RUIN. + +_State of Preservation._ + +The area occupied by the Casa Grande ruin is insignificant as compared +with that of the entire group, yet it has attracted the greater +attention because it comprises practically all the walls still standing. +There is only one small fragment of wall east of the main structure and +another south of it. + +The ruin is especially interesting because it is the best preserved +example now remaining of a type of structure which, there is reason to +believe, was widely distributed throughout the Gila valley, and which, +so far as now known, is not found elsewhere. The conditions under which +pueblo architecture developed in the north were peculiar, and stamped +themselves indelibly on the house structures there found. Here in the +south there is a radical change in physical environment: even the +available building material was different, and while it is probable that +a systematic investigation of this field will show essentially the same +ideas that in the north are worked out in stone, here embodied in a +different material and doubtless somewhat modified to suit the changed +environment, yet any general conclusion based on the study of a single +ruin would be unsafe. In the present state of knowledge of this field it +is not advisable to attempt more than a detailed description, embodying, +however, a few inferences, applicable to this ruin only, which seem well +supported by the evidence obtained. + +The Casa Grande ruin is located near the southwestern corner of the +group, and the ground surface for miles about it in every direction is +so flat that from the summit of the walls an immense stretch of country +is brought under view. On the east is the broad valley of Gila river +rising in a great plain to a distant range of mountains. About a mile +and a half toward the north a fringe of cottonwood trees marks the +course of the river, beyond which the plain continues, broken somewhat +by hills and buttes, until the view is closed by the Superstition +mountains. On the northwest the valley of Gila river runs into the +horizon, with a few buttes here and there. On the west lies a range of +mountains closing the valley in that direction, while toward the +southwest and south it extends until in places it meets the horizon, +while in other places it is closed by ranges of mountain blue and misty +in the distance. In an experience of some years among northern ruins, +many of them located with special reference to outlook over tillable +lands, the writer has found no other ruin so well situated as this. + +The character of the site occupied by the ruin indicates that it belongs +to a late date if not to the final period in the occupancy of this +region, a period when by reason of natural increase of numbers, or +perhaps aggregation of related gentes, the defense motive no longer +dominated the selection of a village site, but reliance was placed on +numbers and character of structures, and the builders felt free to +select a site with reference only to their wants as a horticultural +people. This period or stage has been reached by many of the Pueblo +tribes, although mostly within the historical period; but some of them, +the Tusayan for example, are still in a prior stage. + +[Illustration: Pl. LIV: Standing Wall near Casa Grande.] + +A ground plan of the ruin is shown in plate LII, and a general view in +plate LIII. The area covered and inclosed by standing walls is about 43 +feet by 59 feet, but the building is not exactly rectangular, and the +common statement that it faces the cardinal points is erroneous. The +variation from the magnetic north is shown on the ground plan, which was +made in December, 1890. The building comprised three central rooms, each +approximately 10 by 24 feet, arranged side by side with the longer axes +north and south, and two other rooms, each about 9 by 35 feet, occupying +respectively the northern and southern ends of the building, and +arranged transversely across the ends of the central rooms, with the +longer axes running east and west. Except the central room, which was +three stories in height, all the rooms were two stories above the +ground. The northeastern and southeastern corners of the structure have +fallen, and large blocks of the material of which they were composed are +strewn upon the ground in the vicinity. It is probable that the +destruction of these corners prior to that of the rest of the building +was due to the disintegration of minor walls connected with them and +extending, as shown by the ridges on the ground plan, northward from the +northeastern corner and eastward from the southeastern corner. These +walls doubtless formed part of the original structure and were probably +erected with it; otherwise the corners of the main structure would not +have been torn out or strained enough to fall before the rest of the +building was affected. + +It is not likely that the main building originally stood alone as at +present. On the contrary there is every reason to suppose that it was +connected with other buildings about 75 feet east of it, now marked by a +bit of standing wall shown on the map (plate LI), and probably also with +a small structure about 170 feet south of it, shown in plate LIV. These +connections seem to have been by open courts inclosed by walls and not +by continuous buildings. The court east of the ruin is well marked by +the contours and seems to have been entered by a gateway or opening at +its southeastern corner. + + +_Dimensions._ + +It is probable that the area immediately adjacent to the ruin, and now +covered by mounds, carried buildings of the same time with the main +structure and was occupied contemporaneously with it or nearly so. This +area, well marked on the map, measures about 400 feet north and south, +and 240 feet east and west. It is not rectangular, although the eastern +and western sides, now marked by long ridges, are roughly parallel. The +northeastern corner does not conform to a rectangular plan, and the +southern side is not more than half closed by the low ridge which +extends partly across it. This area is doubtless the one measured in +1776, by Padre Font, whose description, was copied by later writers, and +whose measurements were applied by Humboldt and others to the ruin +itself. Font gave his measurements as those of a circumscribing wall, +and his inference has been adopted by many, in fact most, later writers. +A circumscribing wall is an anomalous feature, in the experience of the +writer, and a close inspection of the general map will show that Font's +inference is hardly justified by the condition of the remains today. It +seems more likely that the area in question was covered by groups of +buildings and rows of rooms, connected by open courts, and forming an +outline sometimes regular for a considerable distance, but more often +irregular, after the manner of pueblo structures today. The long north +and south ridge which forms the southeastern corner of the area, with +other ridges extending westward, is quite wide on top, wide enough to +accommodate a single row of rooms of the same width as those of the +ruin, and it is hardly reasonable to suppose that a wall would be built +10 or 12 feet wide when one of 4 feet would serve every purpose to which +it could possibly be put. Furthermore, the supposition of an inclosing +wall does not leave any reasonable explanation of the transverse ridges +above mentioned, nor of the long ridge which runs southward from the +southeastern corner of the ruin. + +The exterior walls rise to a height of from 20 to 25 feet above the +ground. This height accommodated two stories, but the top of the wall is +now 1 to 2 feet higher than the roof level of the second story. The +middle room or space was built up three stories high and the walls are +now 28 to 30 feet above the ground level. The tops of the walls, while +rough and much eroded, are approximately level. The exterior surface of +the walls is rough, as shown in the illustrations, but the interior +walls of the rooms are finished with a remarkable degree of smoothness, +so much so as to attract the attention of everyone who has visited the +ruin. Mange, who saw the ruin with Padre Font in 1697, says the walls +shine like Puebla pottery, and they still retain this finish wherever +the surface has not cracked off. This fine finish is shown in a number +of illustrations herewith. The walls are not of even thickness. At the +ground level the exterior wall is from 3½ to 4½ feet thick, and in one +place at the southern end of the eastern wall, is a trifle over 5 feet +thick. The interior walls are from 3 to 4 feet thick at base. At the top +the walls are reduced to about 2 feet thick, partly by setbacks or steps +at the floor levels, partly by exterior batter, the interior wall +surface being approximately vertical. Some writers, noting the +inclination of the outer wall surface, and not seeing the interior, have +inferred that the walls leaned considerably away from the perpendicular. +This inference has been strengthened, in some cases, by an examination +of the interior, for the inner wall surface, while finely finished, is +not by any means a plane surface, being generally concave in each room; +yet a line drawn from floor level to floor level would be very nearly +vertical. The building was constructed by crude methods, thoroughly +aboriginal in character, and there is no uniformity in its measurements. +The walls, even in the same room, are not of even thickness, the floor +joists were seldom on a straight line, and measurements made at similar +places, e.g., the two ends of a room, seldom agree. + +[Illustration: Pl. LV: West Front of Casa Grande Ruin.] + +A series of precise measurements gives the following results: Outside +eastern wall, at level 3 feet above center of depressed area adjoining +the ruin on the east, 59 feet; western wall at same level, 59 feet 1 +inch; northern and southern walls, at same level, 42 and 43 feet +respectively. These measurements are between points formed by the +intersection of the wall lines; the northeastern and southeastern +corners having fallen, the actual length of standing wall is less. At +the level stated the northern wall measures but 34 feet 4 inches, and +the southern wall 36 feet 10 inches. A similar irregularity is found in +the interior measurements of rooms. The middle room is marked by an +exceptional departure from regularity in shape and dimensions. Both the +east and west walls are bowed eastward, making the western wall convex +and the eastern wall concave in reference to the room. + +Precise measurements of the middle room at the second floor level, 8 +feet above the base previously stated, are as follows: Eastern side, 24 +feet 8½ inches; western side, 24 feet 2 inches; northern side, 9 feet 3½ +inches; southern side, 9 feet 1 inch. The eastern room is a little more +regular, but there is a difference of 11 inches between the measurements +of the northern and southern ends. A similar difference is found in the +western room, amounting there to 6 inches. The northern and southern +rooms do not afford as good bases for comparison, as a corner is missing +in each; but measurements to a point where the interior wall surfaces +would intersect if prolonged, show variations of from 6 inches to a +foot. The statement that the ruin exhibits exceptional skill in +construction on the part of the builders, is not, therefore, supported +by facts. + + +_Detailed Description._ + +The Casa Grande ruin is often referred to as an adobe structure. Adobe +construction, if we limit the word to its proper meaning, consists of +the use of molded brick, dried in the sun but not baked. Adobe, as thus +defined, is very largely used throughout the southwest, more than nine +out of ten houses erected by the Mexican population and many of those +erected by the Pueblo Indians being so constructed; but, in the +experience of the writer, it is never found in the older ruins, although +seen to a limited extent in ruins known to belong to a period subsequent +to the Spanish conquest. Its discovery, therefore, in the Casa Grande +would be important; but no trace of it can be found. The walls are +composed of huge blocks of earth, 3 to 5 feet long, 2 feet high, and 3 +to 4 feet thick. These blocks were not molded and placed in situ, but +were manufactured in place. The method adopted was probably the erection +of a framework of canes or light poles, woven with reeds or grass, +forming two parallel surfaces or planes, some 3 or 4 feet apart and +about 5 feet long. Into this open box or trough was rammed clayey earth +obtained from the immediate vicinity and mixed with water to a heavy +paste. When the mass was sufficiently dry, the framework was moved along +the wall and the operation repeated. This is the typical pisé or +rammed-earth construction, and in the hands of skilled workmen it +suffices for the construction of quite elaborate buildings. As here +used, however, the appliances were rude and the workmen unskilled. An +inspection of the illustrations herewith, especially of plate LV, +showing the western wall of the ruin, will indicate clearly how this +work was done. The horizontal lines, marking what may be called courses, +are very well defined, and, while the vertical joints are not apparent +in the illustration, a close inspection of the wall itself shows them. +It will be noticed that the builders were unable to keep straight +courses, and that occasional thin courses were put in to bring the wall +up to a general level. This is even more noticeable in other parts of +the ruin. It is probable that as the walls rose the exterior surface was +smoothed with the hand or with some suitable implement, but it was not +carefully finished like the interior, nor was it treated like the latter +with a specially prepared material. The material employed for the walls +was admirably suited for the purpose, being when dry almost as hard as +sandstone and practically indestructible. The manner in which such walls +disintegrate under atmospheric influences has already been set forth in +detail in this report. An inhabited structure with walls like these +would last indefinitely, provided occupancy continued and a few slight +repairs, which would accompany occupancy, were made at the conclusion of +each rainy season. When abandoned, however, sapping at the ground level +would commence, and would in time level all the walls; yet in the two +centuries which have elapsed since Padre Kino's visit--and the Casa +Grande was then a ruin--there has been but little destruction, the +damage done by relic hunters in the last twenty years being in fact much +greater than that wrought by the elements in the preceding two +centuries. The relic hunters seem to have had a craze for wood, as the +lintels of openings and even the stumps of floor joists have been torn +out and carried away. The writer has been reliably informed that as late +as twenty years ago a portion of the floor or roof in one of the rooms +was still in place, but at the present day nothing is left of the floors +except marks on the vertical walls, and a few stumps of floor joists, +deeply imbedded in the walls, and so high that they can not be seen from +the ground. + +[Illustration: Pl. LVI: Interior Wall of Casa Grande Ruin.] + +The floors of the rooms, which were also the roofs of the rooms below, +were of the ordinary pueblo type, employed also today by the American +and Mexican population of this region. In the Casa Grande ruin a series +of light joists or heavy poles was laid across the shorter axis of the +room at the time the walls were erected; these poles were 3 to 6 inches +in diameter, not selected or laid with unusual care, as the holes in the +side walls which mark the places they occupied are seldom in a straight +line, and their shape often indicates that the poles were quite crooked. +Better executed examples of the same construction are often found in +northern ruins. Over the primary series of joists was placed a layer of +light poles, 1½ to 2 inches in diameter, and over these reeds and coarse +grass were spread. The prints of the light poles can still be seen on +the walls. The floor or roof was then finished with a heavy coating of +clay, trodden down solid and smoothed to a level. A number of blocks of +this final floor finish, bearing the impress of the grass and reeds, +were found in the middle room. There is usually a setback in the wall at +the floor level, but this practice was not followed in all the rooms. + +The position of the floor is well marked in all cases by holes in the +wall, into which beams projected sometimes to a depth of 3 feet, and by +a peculiar roughness of the wall. Plate LVI shows two floor levels, both +set back slightly and the upper one strongly marked by the roughness +mentioned. This roughness apparently marks the thickness of the floor in +some cases, yet in others it is much too thick for a floor and must have +had some other purpose. The relation of these marks to the beam holes +suggests that in some cases there was a low and probably narrow bench +around two or more sides of the room; such benches are often found in +the present Pueblo villages. + +The walls of the northern room are fairly well preserved, except in the +northeastern corner, which has fallen. The principal floor beams were of +necessity laid north and south, across the shorter axis of the room, +while the secondary series of poles, 1½ inches in diameter, have left +their impression in the eastern and western walls. There is no setback +in the northern wall at the first floor level, though there is a very +slight one in the southern wall; none appears in the eastern and western +walls. Yet in the second roof level there is a double setback of 9 and 5 +inches in the western wall, and the northern wall has a setback of 9 +inches, and the top of the wall still shows the position of nearly all +the roof timbers. This suggests--and the suggestion is supported by +other facts to be mentioned later--that the northern room was added +after the completion of the rest of the edifice. + +The second roof or third floor level, the present top of the wall, has a +decided pitch outward, amounting to nearly 5 inches. Furthermore, the +outside of the northern wall of the middle room, above the second roof +level of the northern room, is very much eroded. This indicates that the +northern room never had a greater height than two stories, but probably +the walls were crowned with low parapets. In this connection it may be +stated that a calculation of the amount of débris within the building +and for a distance of 10 feet about it in every direction, the interior +floor level being determined by excavation, showed an amount of material +which, added to the walls, would raise them less than 3 feet; in other +words, the present height of the walls is very nearly the maximum +height. + +Subsequent to this examination the ruin was cleared out by contractors +for the Government in carrying out a plan for the repair and +preservation of the ruin, and it was reported that in one of the rooms a +floor level below that previously determined was found, making an +underground story or cellar. This would but slightly modify the +foregoing conclusion, as the additional débris would raise the walls +less than a foot, and in the calculation no account was taken of +material removed from the surface of the walls. + +In support of the hypothesis that the second roof level of the northern +room was the top roof, it may be stated that there is no trace of an +opening in the walls above that level, except on the western side. There +was a narrow opening in the western corner, but so well filled that it +is hardly perceptible. Doubtless it formed a niche or opening in the +parapet. + +The southern wall on the first roof level still preserves very clear and +distinct impressions of the rushes which were used in the construction +of the roof. In some cases these impressions occur 3 inches above the +top of the floor beams, in others directly above them, showing that the +secondary series of poles was very irregularly placed. In the eastern +and western walls the impressions of rushes are also clear, but there +they are parallel with the wall surface. The rushes were about the +thickness of a pencil. + +The floor joists were 3 to 4 inches in diameter, and as a rule projected +into the wall but 5 to 8 inches. In some places in the northern wall, +however, they extended into the masonry as much as 3 feet 3 inches. The +beams were doubtless cut by guess, at the place where trees of the +requisite size were found, according to the method employed by the +Pueblo Indians today, and if, as supposed, the northern room was built +after the rest of the structure, the excess in length would necessarily +be found in the northern wall. + +In the roof construction previously described rushes or canes formed the +third member, and in the northern room the wall is rough immediately +above the impressions of rushes, and projects 8 to 12 inches. This +feature is well marked; it may be a remnant of the clay covering of +floor or roof, but it is almost too thick for that and possibly marks +the position of a low bench, as previously suggested. The bottoms of the +openings come just to or a trifle above the top of this marking. + +[Illustration: Pl. LVII: Blocked Opening in West Wall.] + +The walls of the western room were smoothly finished and the finish is +well preserved, but here, as in the northern room, the exterior wall of +the middle room was not finished above the second roof level, and there +is no doubt that two stories above the ground were the maximum height of +the western rooms, excluding the parapet. The eastern wall presents a +marked double convexity while the western wall is comparatively straight +in a horizontal line, but markedly concave vertically above the first +roof level. Below this level it is straight. The floor beams were from 3 +to 6 inches in diameter. The marks in the eastern wall show that the +beams projected into it to a nearly uniform depth of 1 foot 4 inches. In +the western wall, however, the depth varies from 1 to 3 feet. The beams +which entered the eastern wall were very irregularly placed, the line +rising in the center some 3 or 4 inches. The beams of the second roof +level show the same irregularity and in the same place; possibly this +was done to correct a level, for the same feature is repeated in the +eastern room. + +The walls of the southern room are perhaps better finished and less well +constructed than any others in the building. The beam holes in the +southern wall are regular, those in the northern wall less so. The beams +used averaged a little smaller than those in the other rooms, and there +is no trace whatever in the overhanging wall of the use of rushes or +canes in the construction of the roof above. The walls depart +considerably from vertical plane surfaces; the southern wall inclines +fully 12 inches inward, while in the northeastern corner the side of a +doorway projects fully 3 inches into the room. The broken condition of +the southern wall indicates carelessness in construction. The weakest +point in pisé construction is of course the framing around openings. In +the southern wall the openings, being doubtless the first to give way, +are now almost completely obliterated. In the center of the wall there +were two openings, one above the other, but not a trace of lintels now +remains, and the eastern half of the wall now stands clear from other +walls. Probably there was also an opening near the southwestern corner +of the room, but the lintels giving way the wall above fell down and, as +shown on the ground plan (plate LII), filled up the opening. This could +happen only with exceptionally light lintels and exceptionally bad +construction of walls; one of the large blocks, before described as +composing the wall, must have rested directly above the opening, which +was practically the same size as the block. + +The walls of the eastern room were well finished, and, except the +western wall, in fairly good preservation. The floor beams were not +placed in a straight line, but rise slightly near the middle, as noted +above. The finish of some of the openings suggests that the floor was +but 3 or 4 inches above the beams, and that the roughened surface, +already mentioned, was not part of it. The northern wall of this room +seems to have run through to the outside, on the east, as though at one +time it formed the exterior wall of the structure; and the eastern wall +of the building north of this room is separated from the rest of the +wall by a wide crack, as though it had been built against a smooth +surface. The western wall of this room shows clearly that in the +construction of the building the floor beams were laid on the tops of +the walls, and that the intervening spaces were filled with small lumps +of material up to a level with or a little above the upper surface of +the beams, the regular construction with large blocks being then +resumed. + +In the middle room many blocks bearing the imprint of grass and rushes +were found, and the rough marking of the walls just above the floor +beams is covered in places in this room with masonry composed of these +grass marked blocks projecting some distance into the room, indicating +that in this room at least they mark the position of a bench. These +blocks occupy the whole thickness of the setback at the second roof +level--perhaps an indication that the upper story was added after the +building was occupied. + + +_Openings._ + +The Casa Grande was well provided with doorways and other openings +arranged in pairs one above the other. There were doorways from each +room into each adjoining room, except that the middle room was entered +only from the east. Some of the openings were not used and were closed +with blocks of solid masonry built into them long prior to the final +abandonment of the ruin. + +The middle room had three doorways, one above the other, all opening +eastward. The lowest doorway opened directly on the floor level, and was +2 feet wide, with vertical sides. Its height could not be determined, as +the top was completely broken away and merged with the opening above, +but the bottom, which is also the floor level, is 6 feet 9 inches below +the level of the first roof beams. The doorway of the second story is +preserved only on the northern side. Its bottom, still easily +distinguishable, is 1 foot 6 inches above the bottom of the floor beams. +It was not over 2 feet wide and was about 4 feet high. The upper doorway +is still well preserved, except that the lintels are gone. It is about +three inches narrower at the top than at the bottom and about 4 feet +high. + +In addition to its three doorways, all in the eastern wall, the middle +tier of rooms was well provided with niches and holes in the walls, some +of them doubtless utilized as outlooks. On the left of the upper doorway +are two holes, a foot apart, about 4 inches in diameter, and smoothly +finished. Almost directly above these some 3 feet, and about 2 feet +higher than the top of the door, there are two similar holes. Near the +southern end of the room in the same wall there is another round opening +a trifle larger and about 4½ feet above the floor level. In the western +wall there are two similar openings, and there is one each in the +northern and southern walls. All these openings are circular, of small +diameter, and are in the upper or third story, as shown on the +elevations herewith, figure 330. The frequency of openings in the upper +or third story and their absence on lower levels, except the specially +arranged openings described later, supports the hypothesis that none of +the rooms except the middle one were ever more than two stories high and +that the wall remains above the second roof level represent a low +parapet. + +[Illustration: Pl. LVIII: Square Opening in South Room.] + +In the second story, or middle room of the middle tier, there were no +openings except the doorway in the eastern wall and two small orifices +in the western wall. In the middle of this wall there is a niche about +18 inches below the roof, and a foot below this is a round-cornered +opening measuring about 7 by 8 inches extending through the wall. This +opening was on a level with another in the western wall of the western +room, and commanded a far-reaching though contracted view toward the +west. Below and a little northward is a similar though somewhat larger +opening corresponding to an opening in the western wall of the western +room. + +[Illustration: Fig. 330.--Elevations of walls, middle room.] + +The upper doorway in the western wall of the western room is much broken +out, but the top can still be traced. It was 4 feet 5½ inches in height +and 1 foot 11 inches wide at top. The opening was blocked by solid +masonry built into it and completely filling it up to within 10 inches +of the top. This upper space, which is on a level with the upper hole in +the middle room, seems to have been purposely left to allow an outlook +from that room. The filling block is level on top and flush with the +wall inside and out. At a height of 12 inches above the lower edge of +the floor beams below it, and perhaps 3 inches above the floor, is the +lower edge of a roughly square opening a foot across, cut out from the +block itself and inclined slightly downward toward the exterior. It was +plastered and smoothly finished. This opening corresponds to the one in +the middle room already described. This filling block, with the orifice +under discussion, is shown in figure 330, and in detail in plate LVII. + +The lower doorway, shown in figure 330, is much broken out, and although +now but 2 feet 1½ inches wide at its narrowest part, no trace of the +original surface remains on the northern side. The opening was 4 feet 6½ +inches high and probably less than 2 feet wide, with vertical sides. + +In the western wall of the southern room there was but one opening. This +is about 9 inches square, finished smoothly, and occurs in the upper +room, about 6 feet 5 inches above the floor. It is shown in plate LVIII. +The doorway between this room and the western room was smoothly finished +and is in good order except the top, which is entirely gone. It was +covered with double lintels made of poles 2 to 4 inches in diameter, the +lower series about 3 inches above the top of the door. The opening was +originally filled in like that described above, leaving only 8 or 10 +inches of the upper part open. The lower part of the block was pierced +by a square hole, like that in the western room, but this has weathered +or been broken out and the block has slipped down, so that now its top +is 1 foot 5½ inches below what was formerly the top of the opening. The +top of the filling block is still smooth and finished and shows across +its entire width a series of prints probably of flat sticks about an +inch and a half wide, though, possibly these are marks of some finishing +tool. The marks run north and south. + +The opening below the one just described was so much filled up at the +time of examination that none of its features could be determined, +except that it was bridged by two tiers of sticks of the usual size as +lintels. The subsequent excavation before referred to, however, +apparently disclosed an opening similar to the one described, and, like +it, filled nearly to the top with a large block. + +A little west of the middle of the northern wall there are three niches, +arranged side by side and about 6½ feet above the first roof beams. The +niches are 10 inches high, a foot wide, and about a foot deep, and are +about 8 inches apart. They are smoothly finished and plastered, but were +roughly made. + +The eastern opening in the northern wall, opening into the east room, is +well preserved except the top, which is missing. It measured 4 feet 2½ +inches in height and 1 foot 11 inches wide at the bottom, the top being +nearly an inch narrower. It carried two tiers of lintels of medium size. + +The gap in the southern wall of the southern room, shown in the plan, +though now open from the ground up, represents the location of two +doorways, one above the other. Remains of both of these can still be +seen on the ends of the walls. No measurements can be obtained. The +large fallen block near the southwestern corner of the room, which +undoubtedly slipped down from above, shows a finished surface at the +ground level inside, but above it no trace of an opening can be seen, +possibly because the ends of the walls above are much eroded. + +[Illustration: Pl. LIX: Remains of Lintels.] + +The upper opening in the eastern wall of the eastern room was apparently +capped with a single lintel composed of five sticks 4 to 6 inches in +diameter laid level on the top of a course of masonry. The bottom of the +opening is filled either with washed-down material or with the remains +of a block such as that previously described. This opening is the most +irregular one in the building, the top being nearly 4 inches narrower +than the bottom, but the northern side of the opening is vertical, the +southern side only being inclined inward. The opening was 4 feet 11 +inches high and 1 foot 8½ inches wide at the bottom. The opening +immediately below that described, which was the ground floor entrance +from the east, is so much broken out that no evidence remains of its +size and character. There appears to have been only one row of lintel +poles. + +The eastern opening in the southern wall of the northern room is well +preserved, the lintels having been torn out by relic hunters without +much destruction of the surrounding masonry. It was neatly finished, and +its bottom, was probably a little above the first roof level. The edges +of the openings were made straight with flat sticks, either used as +implements or incorporated into the structure, and forming almost +perfectly straight edges. Marks of the same method of construction or +finish are apparent in all the other openings, but the remains are not +so well preserved as in this instance. Possibly the immediate lintels of +openings were formed of thin flat sticks, as the lintel poles are often +some inches above the top of the opening. In this opening the supporting +lintel was formed of a number of poles 2 to 4 inches in diameter, +irregularly placed, sometimes two or three in vertical series with very +little filling between them. This construction has been characterized as +a Norman arch. The opening was originally 1 foot 11 inches at the top +and 4 feet 6 inches high. The bottom is 1½ inches wider than the top. + +The upper opening in the western end of the southern wall is much like +that just described. A small fragment of masonry above the lintel +remains, and this is within a quarter of an inch of the top of the +opening. Above the opening there was a series of rough lintel poles, 3 +to 5 inches in diameter, arranged in three tiers with 4 to 6 inches of +filling between them. Prints of these sticks are left in the wall and +show that some of them were quite crooked. Probably they were of +mesquite, obtained from the immediate vicinity. The edges of the +openings were finished with flat sticks, like those described, and its +bottom was 6 inches to a foot above the floor. The height of the opening +was 4 feet 3 inches and its width at the top 2 feet, at the bottom 2 +feet 1½ inches. + +The opening immediately below the last described is filled with débris +to the level of the lintel. Above this, however, there is a series of +three tiers of sticks with 6 to 8 inches of masonry between them +vertically, sometimes laid side by side, sometimes separated by a foot +of masonry. Some of these lintel poles, as well as those of the opening +above it, extend 3 feet into the wall, others only a few inches. The +lower sides or bottoms of the holes are washed with pink clay, the same +material used for surfacing the interior walls. Perhaps this was merely +the wetting used to make succeeding courses of clay stick better. This +opening is shown in plate LIX. + +Near the middle of the northern wall there are two openings, one above +the other. The upper opening was finished in the same manner as those +already described. But two tiers of poles show above it, though the top +is well preserved, and another tier may be buried in the wall. There are +indications that the opening was closed by a block about 2 feet thick +and flush with the outside. The height of the opening was 4 feet 5 +inches, width at top 1 foot 4½ inches, and at the bottom 1 foot 10 +inches. It narrows a little from north to south. + +The lower opening is so much broken out that little remains to show its +character. There is a suggestion that the opening was only 2 feet high, +and there were probably three tiers of lintels above the opening, the +top of which was 2½ feet below the roof beams, but the evidence is not +so clear as in the other instances. + +In the middle of the western wall, at a height of 5 feet 8 inches above +the first roof level, there is a large, roughly circular opening or +window, 14 inches in diameter. This is shown in plate LX. It is smoothly +finished, and enlarges, slightly, outward. + + + + +CONCLUSIONS. + + +As before stated, any conclusions drawn from a study of the Casa Grande +itself, and not checked by examination of other similar or analogous +ruins, can not be considered as firmly established, yet they have a +suggestive value. + +From the character of the remains it seems probable that the site of the +ruins here designated as the Casa Grande group was occupied a long time, +not as a whole, but piecemeal as it were, one part being occupied and +abandoned while some other part was being built up, and that this ebb +and flow of population through many generations reached its final period +in the occupation of the structure here termed the Casa Grande ruin. It +is probable that this structure did not exist at the time the site was +first occupied, and still more probable that all or nearly all the other +sites were abandoned for some time before the structure now called the +Casa Grande was erected. It is also probable that after the abandonment +of the Casa Grande the ground about it was still worked by its former +population, who temporarily occupied, during the horticultural season, +farming outlooks located near it. + +[Illustration: Pl. LX: Circular Opening in North Room.] + +The methods employed in the construction of the buildings of the Casa +Grande were thoroughly aboriginal and characteristically rude in +application. A fair degree of adaptability to purpose and environment is +seen, indicating that the Casa Grande was one, and not the first, +building of a series constructed by the people who erected it and by +their ancestors, but the degree of skill exhibited and amount of +ingenuity shown in overcoming difficulties do not compare with that +found in many northern ruins. As architects, the inhabitants of the Casa +Grande did not occupy the first rank among pueblo-builders. + +It is probable that the Casa Grande ruin as we see it today shows very +nearly the full height of the structure as it stood when it was +abandoned. The middle tier of rooms rose to a height of three stories; +the others were but two stories high. It is also probable that the +building was enlarged after being once completed and occupied. At one +time it probably consisted of four rooms on the ground plan, each two +stories high. The northern tier, of rooms was added afterward, and +probably also the third room in the central tier. + +The Casa Grande was undoubtedly built and occupied by a branch of the +Pueblo race, or by an allied people. Who these people were it is +impossible to determine finally from the examination of one ruin, but +all the evidence at hand suggests that they were the ancestors of the +present Pima Indians, now found in the vicinity and known to have +formerly been a pueblo-building tribe. This conclusion is supported by +the Pima traditions, as collected by Mr. Bandelier, who is intimately +acquainted with the documentary history of the southwest, and whose +knowledge of the Pima traditions is perhaps greater than that of anyone +else now living. In his various writings he hints at this connection, +and in one place he declares explicitly that the Casa Grande is a Pima +structure. None of the internal evidence of the ruin is at variance with +this conclusion. On the contrary, the scanty evidence is in accord with +the hypothesis that the Casa Grande was erected and occupied by the +ancestors of the Pima Indians. + + + + +INDEX + + +Adobe defined 309 +Age of Casa Grande 299, 318 + +Bandelier, A. F., Description of Casa Grande by 297 + Pima Casa-Grande tradition by 319 +Bartlett, J. R., cited 296, 297 + +Casa Grande, Masonry of 306 +Chichilticale, Description of 295 +Cushing, F. H., Allusion by, to Casa Grande 297 + southwestern sun-temples 305 + +Defensive motive of Casa Grande 307 +Depressions, Artificial, at Casa Grande 303 +Dimensions of Casa Grande 307 +Doorways in Casa Grande 314 + +Emory, W. H., Visit of, to Casa Grande 297 + +Fewkes, J. W., Description of Casa Grande by 298 +Floors of Casa Grande 311 +Font, Pedro, Account of Casa Grande by 296 + on dimensions of Casa Grande 307 + +Humboldt, A. von, on dimensions of Casa Grande 308 + +Johnston, Capt., Visit of to Casa Grande 297 + +Kino, Eusebio, Visit of, to Casa Grande 296 + +Lintels in Casa Grande 317 + +Mange, Juan M., on Casa Grande 296 +Masonry of Casa Grande 309 +Mindeleff, V., on pueblo farming outlooks 303 +Mound surrounding Casa Grande 300 + +Photographs of Casa Grande compared 300 +Pima, Casa Grande built by the 319 +Population + of pueblos 300 + Casa Grande 300 + +Rooms of Casa Grande, Dimensions of 307 + +Site of Casa Grande, Character of 306 + +Ternaux-Compans, Translation of Castaneda by 296 +Thrashing Floors in Verde valley 305 +Tradition of Pima, of Casa Grande 319 + +Walls of Casa Grande 308, 300, 313 +Window-Openings in Casa Grande 314 +Woodwork of Casa Grande 310, 312, 313 + + * * * * * + +[Errata: + +...no English translation has yet been published.) + _closing parenthesis missing in original_ + +Bancroft gives a partial translation in op. cit., p. 623, note, + _original reads_ p. 623, note), + +thrashing floors + _spelling as in original (text and Index)_ + +(Index) +Casa Grande / Masonry of 306 + _text reads_ 360] + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Casa Grande Ruin, by Cosmos Mindeleff + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CASA GRANDE RUIN *** + +***** This file should be named 17487-8.txt or 17487-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/4/8/17487/ + +Produced by Louise Hope, Carlo Traverso, and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF/Gallica) at +http://gallica.bnf.fr) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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