University of Virginia Library

II. Part II

THE EXCAVATION OF Bc 51 ROOMS AND KIVAS

By Clyde Kluckhohn

Section A

Introductory

Excavation Methods.—These were essentially as described for
Bc 50. The excavations were under the general supervision of Kluckhohn
and the laboratory work under that of Hawley. Hibben was in
immediate charge of the excavation of rooms and Senter of refuse
mound excavation. Wesley Bliss did the photography and mapping.
James Ford acted as recorder and William Mulloy as a general assistant.
Robert Lister assisted in the laboratory.

The Site.—The position of Bc 51 with reference to Bc 50 is shown
on Map 1[1] and Plate 1. Mound Bc 51 is about 100 yards from the cliff
on the west side of the wash from the rincon. Before excavation, the
mound averaged about 6′ in height, was roughly 150′ long and 40′ wide.
The south end was overlapped by a small outwash fan from a point of
the cliff so that the south end of the mound was only about 4′ above
the general ground level while the north end was about 7′ above the
ground level. The walls did not show very clearly above the surface,
but several depressions, indicating kivas, stood out plainly. Room 1
was largely excavated during the 1936 season. Otherwise the surface
of the mound did not appear to have been disturbed.

Nineteen rooms and 6 kivas were completely or partially excavated.
There are clear indications of a number of rooms which were
not excavated. Substructures of Bc 51 appeared only at the very end
of the season and a detailed report on them is not possible without
further excavation. It may be said, however, that in addition to pithouses
found in the lower levels of the refuse deposits there were indications
of a portion of a pithouse below level 10 in room 1 and that
definite masonry substructures appeared below rooms 16, 17, 22, and
23.

Section B

Architectural Details of Rooms

Shape and Size of Rooms.—Sufficient idea of the variations here
can be obtained from study of Map 1.

Masonry.—(See Plates 2 and 3.) Most of what was noted for
Bc 50 applies here also. Wall thickness ranged from 9″ to 19″, with
about 12″ as the modal figure. Height of wall (from top to floor level)

Map 1. Plot of Excavations Bc 50-51, and Profiles

ranged from c. 3′ to c. 6′, with 4′ to 5′ being the commonest measurement.
As at Bc 50, a number of metates (often broken) were found
set into walls. As usual, there is considerable variation in the masonry
from room to room and even from wall to wall within the same room.
Room 1 shows a wall sequence on the west wall; three styles of masonry
may be observed in room 4; in room 10 there is a change in masonry
style beyond the "keyhole" doorway where the wall curves. Other examples
could be given and also cases (room 5, for instance) where the
materials and construction in the four walls are substantially identical.
Such variations are difficult of well-founded interpretation, for it is
clear that they may well reflect differences in the competence and
interest of individuals rather than differences in cultural fashions.
Certain generalizations, however, which probably bear upon cultural
patterns, can be made.

With the exception of a few walls in the northernmost section,
all masonry falls in Hawley's Blocks without Core Type. The divergent
walls (room 7) are Narrow Banded with Core Type and there
are a few other places (the west wall of room 2, for example) which
approximate this type in general surface style, though without core.
(One or two walls are also reminiscent of Spalled Blocks with Core
Type in surface finish.) The masonry of the southern end of Bc 51 is
quite generally cruder than that of the northern end, and approximates
more closely that found in Bc 50. It would seem likely that the pueblo
grew to the north. The masonry of Bc 51 shows generally more big
blocks with few spalls than does Bc 50. The walls give the general
impression of being more solid and made of more carefully shaped
stones. The masonry of rooms 16-, 17-, 22-, and 23-substructure was
distinguishable from that of the superstructure in these rooms but was
still of the Blocks without Core Type, not of the Slab Base Rubble
Type. There were rounded corners in room 16-sub, which was slightly
smaller than the superstructure room. The south wall of the superstructure
of room 17 was extended out slightly—otherwise the walls
of sub and superstructure were coterminous. The roof level of the
lower room was indicated by viga holes. Within room 23-sub was a
secondary east wall 38″ high of pieces of sandstone much larger than
those used in the walls of the room proper.

Fill.[2] —Above almost all floors roughly the first 2′ of fill consisted
of wind-deposited sand with varying amounts of ash and charcoal
(which could well have come from exposed portions of the refuse).

In some cases this wind-deposited sand in the lower levels was very
hard (semi-consolidated), possibly indicating a fairly considerable
interval between the abandonment of the room and the collapse of the
roof. In several rooms, (15, 19, 21) there was also a quantity of
vegetal material (various weeds?) which may have been blown in
through openings after rooms were abandoned. Above a level of from
2′ to 3′ were invariably found fallen-in wall stones and, usually, also
fragments of roof materials. In no rooms (with the possible exception
of rooms 3 and 9) was there clear evidence of water-sorted material,
although in many, plaster from roof and perhaps from walls,
appeared to have been consolidated into lumps by water action. In all
rooms there was abundant wind-deposited material at essentially all
levels, but the rooms at the north end of the mound were generally
distinguished also by intentional fill, of refuse character. Rooms 16,
17, 19, and 23 showed particularly large amounts of refuse. Miscellaneous
human bones were found in rooms 4, 8 (infant and adult), 9
(infant), 10, 16, 18, 22. The remains (except those designated otherwise)
were of adults, but only (at most) five or six scattered bones
without accompanying grave furniture appeared. Burials (differentiated
by remnants of most of an individual and by accompanying
objects) were discovered in the following rooms: 1 (7), 2 (10), 5 (3),
7 (1 adult, 1 infant), 16 (1 adult, 1 child), 18, 20, 21 (see Table 3).
Only rooms 3, 19, and 23 failed to reveal any human bones whatever.
In most cases there was evidence that pits had been dug in the fill to
accommodate the burials. In room 5 the floor was slightly but definitely
pitted. In some rooms, especially certain of those to the north, such
as 5, 7, and 8, the small quantity of sherds, except those definitely
associated with burials, and other refuse suggested that these rooms
had filled to a considerable depth from purely natural sources before
the burial pits were dug in them.

Openings.—These were of the same general character as those
described for Bc 50 except that no wooden uprights or lintels were
discovered. The following rooms showed no openings: 1, 2, 5, 20, 21,
22, 23. The following showed plugged openings: 3, 4, 7 (2), 8, 15, 18,
19. The following showed open "windows" or doorways: 7 (2), 9
(tau-shaped), 10 (2, one of "keyhole" type), 11, 16 (2), 17. There
was no uniformity in directional orientation. The distribution suggests
readjustment and rearrangement in the center of the pueblo as opposed
to the two extremities.

Plaster.—No plaster was observed in rooms 1, 3, 8, 10, 11, 18, 21, 22.
Other rooms showed greater or lesser wall areas plastered with one
to three layers of adobe-laden sand, often smoke-blackened. The thickness
of layers, and the coarseness varied within narrow limits. The
plaster in room 2 appeared to have included gypsum. There was red
paint on the plaster in the substructure under room 16.

Floors.—The description published for Bc 50 applies generally
here except that no use of carbonaceous shale was observed. Floors
were generally thin. Room 4 had a neat floor of stone flags (the blocks
averaging 9″ by 5″ by 2″ thick), set in packed adobe, the whole covered
with plaster an inch or more thick. The following rooms showed distinct
floors: 3 (5), 5 (3), 8 (3), 17 (2), 18 (2). These floor levels were
all within the superstructure and were never separated by more than
6″. Floor variations, like those of masonry, are here probably more
representative of individual than of cultural differences. Substructure
floor levels were reached in rooms 17, 22, and 23 at 111″, 66″, and 80″,
respectively, beneath the surface. Rooms 8, 9, and 19 showed 2″ or 3″
above floors proper what we termed "occupation levels"—surfaces
which had too little regularity and definitiveness to be called floors and
which yet were differentiated from the fill. One floor in room 8 may
have been blood-soaked. A considerable quantity of red ochre was
scattered over the floor of room 19. No floors were reached in rooms 11,
16, 18, and 16 (sub).

Roofs.—There was no evidence as to roofs recovered from the
following rooms: 1, 2, 5, 8, 10, 11, 20, 23. Fragments of roof materials
or imprints in adobe found in rooms 3, 9, 15, 16 (superstructure), 19,
21, 22 (superstructure) gave evidence of construction of the sort described
for Bc 50 superstructure roofs. Fragments of pine timbers
were found in room 4. Room 18 showed portions of six vigas still in
place. These were of cottonwood, as were the greater number of viga
portions observed (including rotted fragments found in the substructure
under room 17). Rooms 7 and 18 afforded sufficient materials upon
which to base somewhat more precise statements. In room 7 were
found seven pinyon beams, averaging 5″ in diameter. Pieces of split
juniper poles had been placed above and at right angles to these, and
the juniper slabs had been crossed with a matting of horsetail reed
tied together in groups of 7 with a straight twill of yucca fibre. In
room 18 it was clear that the wooden portion of the roof had begun to
fall in only after the room was somewhat more than half-filled with
sand and with adobe from the roof. The roof had been formed of
cottonwood beams, 4″ in diameter, with juniper and pinyon branches
at right angles to them. The juniper and pinyon branches were covered
with 2″ of adobe and this was covered with reeds (almost identical with
that described for room 7) laid parallel to the cottonwood vigas.

Cists and Bins.—With one exception, these were (as was the case
in Bc 50) found only at the south end of the pueblo. Rooms 19, 21,
and 23 (superstructure) showed cists of the size and style described
for Bc 50. (The top of the cist in room 21 was painted with red ochre.)
Room 20 had two shallow bins lined with stones and plastered with
adobe. Room 4, however, presented a sub-floor, cist-like cache of olla
shape and with a lid (like that found on the cist in room 21) of a circular

piece of laminated sandstone. It contained charred corn, charcoal,
sherds. The diameter of the mouth was 9″, that of the body
about 13″; the depth beneath the lid was 18″.

Fireplaces.—Firepits were found in the following rooms: 7, 8 (2),
9, 15, 16, 21 (2). None were found in the substructures. There was
a tendency toward central location but no real regularity. All were
oval or rectangular in shape. Four were lined with stone slabs (including
a "scoop" metate in the fire pit in room 15), and the remainder
with burned plaster. The linings projected very slightly above the
floor. The contents in room 15 included burned animal bones. There
was no uniformity in size, greatest lengths ranging from 15″ to 23″.

Special Structural Features.—In room 4 there was a bench in the
southeast corner constructed of stones and adobe and surfaced with
adobe. It was 10″ high and 11″ by 16″. This proved to be an extension
of a wall of room 17-sub. In room 9 there was a large block of stone
in front of the door. Room 10 presented a step (5″ high) below the
level of the doorsill. Room 15 showed an adobe bench along the west
wall, 1′ high and 1′ 9″ wide. In room 16 there were two steps leading
from the floor level to the doorway at the jog in the west wall, and a 10″
offset in the north end of the east wall. In room 20 there was an irregular
wall 11″ high and c. 10″ thick parallel to and 2″ west of the east
wall of the room. No wooden sills, lintels, or uprights were found in
Bc 51.

Section C

Architectural Details of Kivas

General.—The position of kivas with relation to each other and to
rooms can be seen in Map 1. Size, ground plan, and major architectural
features can be observed from Fig. 5. As judged by the position
of their wall bases with reference to adjacent room structures, kivas
1, 2, and 6 must have been largely subterranean, kivas 3 and 4 mainly
above ground level. Kiva 5 must have been largely above ground with
reference to the substructure rooms. All kivas had a single, smooth
well-packed floor. None of the kivas revealed the deposit of young
turkey bones behind the fire screen which characterized the kivas of
Bc 50. The presence of animal bones in the kivas is discussed in
Part III, Section H. It will be noted that, as in Bc 50, the architectural
style of the kivas is not uniform. Neither pilasters nor "keyholes" are
constant features, though present in some kivas. The fill of kivas 3, 4,
5, and 6 contained miscellaneous human bones, while a human mandible
and skull were found on the floor of kivas 1 and 6, respectively.

Kiva 1.—(See Plate 3A.) The depth from the top of the east pilaster
to the floor was 83″, from the ground surface to the floor at the
north edge of the kiva (directly opposite the "keyhole") 98″. The fill
appeared to be mainly natural, being composed of almost alternate

Figure 5—Ground Plans of Kivas

layers of wind-blown sand and stratified, water-sorted sand and clay.
Manos and hammerstones were found in the fill. The kiva had apparently
filled in to a depth of about 4′ before there was a general collapse
of the roof. At this level was found one beam 15′ 4″ long and 5″ in
diameter, together with many fragments of cottonwood vigas imbedded
in a mass of coarse clay which presumably included disintegrated
plaster and roof material. The deeper levels contained a good many
rocks fallen in from the walls. The three feet immediately below the
surface contained approximately as many sherds as all the rest of the
lower fill. The location of the kiva and the character of the fill both
suggested that essentially all of the sherds had been washed into the
kiva from the surface of the mound above.

The masonry of the walls above the banquette was rather poor:
irregularly shaped stones 6″ to 10″ long, set in mortar with occasional
shale fillers. The masonry below the banquette was notably better
than that above it. Courses were straighter. It was a smaller, better
selected shale laid with filler slabs. A trough metate had been used to
repair the wall above the banquette on the west side.

Plaster still adhered in a number of places. Seven layers were
counted in the recess.

The cist was 10½″ deep, 40″ above the floor. It was rectangular,
plastered, within, and contained an eight-row corncob.

Very little evidence as to the roof was found. Fragments of cottonwood
vigas appeared in the lower levels of the fill, and one beam
15′ 4″ long and 5″ in diameter was found 4′ below the surface.

The side walls of the ventilator tunnel were made up of small
pieces of shaly sandstone, averaging about an inch in thickness. The
mouth of the tunnel had a shaped sill and a shaped lintel of sandstone.
For 54″ from the outside wall the tunnel was roofed with half-round
wooden beams about 4″ across. These were laid flat side down, side
by side, extending the whole way across. A human mandible, an antelope
skull, and other animal bones were found upon the floor of the
ventilator tunnel.

The deflector was 17″ high at the west end, 13″ at the east.

The firepit was filled with ashes. It was not rock-lined.

In the kiva wall, 63½″ west of the "keyhole," and 17″ beneath the
top of the wall was found a restorable pot (Exuberant Corrugated)
together with fragments of charcoal and burned coal.

Kiva 2.—The depth from the top of the north wall of the kiva to
the floor was 115″. The general character of the fill was as in kiva 1
with these differences: the fill below 3′ was almost entirely barren of
sherds. Water-sorted material was found over most of the floor of the
kiva. Four metates were found at depths of from 3′ to 5′ in positions
which suggested that they might have formed part of the kiva wall
which had partially fallen in. Half of a metate was also found at a
depth of 67″ and 1′ from the southwest wall.

The masonry was more uniform than in kiva 1. The stones were
4″ to 8″ long and 3″ to 4″ thick, set in mortar with small spalls also of
sandstone.

Five layers of plaster were observed in places over the banquette
and around the ventilator tunnel (which was 15″ deep).

An olla neck (Exuberant Corrugated), lined with adobe, was set
in the floor, presumably as a sipapu.

The position of ten substantial fragments of pinyon roof vigas
strongly suggested some sort of a cribbed roof structure but the evidence
was insufficient. Most of the viga remnants touched or actually
rested upon the floor. There was a pile of massed twigs of juniper
and pinyon between one set of cross beams. Only the red sandstone
bases of the deflector remained.

The firepit was filled with ashes and partially lined with flat stones
and partially with mortar which had burned to a brick red.

The cist was 7″ deep, plastered within.

A sandstone lid (for the cist?) and a weaving batten (?) were
found on the floor.

The fireplace outside the kiva wall (see Fig. 5) was 1′ below the
surface of the mound, formed of 4 flat stones set on edge, filled with
sherds and ashes.

Kiva 3.—(See Plate 3B.) The wall had fallen markedly to the west,
following the contour of the mound, and its top was only 31″ from the
kiva floor. On the east (here only was the bench intact) the top of the
wall was 67″ above the floor. The middle pilaster was 20″ high. The
fill appeared to be intentional, containing material very similar to that
in the refuse mound, including bones of human infants and foetuses.
The sherd content was so enormous that only a large representative
sample was sacked and sorted. Fifty-three stone artifacts (principally
manos and hammerstones) were found in the fill. Above this fill and
over the top of the western, broken-down walls was a thin layer of
adobe, possibly representing an old surface partly formed by wash
from adjacent structures after kiva 3 was abandoned. Over this
adobe layer was water-sorted material.

The masonry was homogeneous and regular, of large stones with
small spalls. No plaster was observed nor was there any evidence of
roofing. The height of the ventilator shaft was 27″. Extensive search
failed to reveal any evidence of a firepit.

Kiva 4.—(See Plate 3B.) The existing walls extended 4½′ above
the floor, and the bench 2½′ above the floor. The fill appeared to be
largely intentional. There were large quantities of sherds and a great
deal of charcoal. In general character, composition of the fill could
scarcely have been distinguished from that of various upper portions
of the refuse mound except for the large stones, presumably fallen in
from the kiva wall. Below the aeolian deposits at the top three sets
of water-sorted layers could be distinguished, separated by strata of
sand and charcoal. The sand layer between roughly 2′ and 3′ above the
floor contained many building stones and was very hard, almost consolidated.
That between 1′ and 2′ contained some stones. Both of
these layers contained chunks of adobe, presumably products of roof
plaster disintegration.

Although all masonry was of Hawley's Blocks without Core Type,
that of bench, kiva wall, and straight walls to north and east each
tended to be of distinguishable styles.

No plaster was observed (except in the ventilator shaft) and no
wood from the roof was found. The ventilator shaft was 15″ deep
beneath the kiva floor. It had 2 wooden lintels, 6″ in circumference.
Considerable pitting did not bring to light any trace of a firepit.

Kiva 5.—As is evident from Map I and Fig. 5, only a small portion
of kiva 5 could be excavated without destroying other structures. The
kiva wall was 66″ high, the top of the bench 49″ above the floor. The
lower 18″ of the fill appeared aeolian, with indications that the room
had filled from east to west. The upper fill was made up of vegetal
material, fallen wall stones, and putatively intentional deposition.
There was some stratification but no evidence of water-sorting. There
were pine needles on the floor.

The masonry of the east wall could not be examined because of
the heavy coatings of plaster which it was thought best to leave for
careful removal in another season's excavation. The masonry of the
west wall was of the Blocks without Core Type, the blocks being
unusually crudely shaped and varying in size from 6″ by 3″ by 7″ to
12″ by 6″ by 11″.

The cist, and recess and bench had several coats of sandy plaster
and the east kiva wall at least 13 layers, the outermost of which was
heavily smoke-blackened. The 2nd and 3rd coats revealed partially
destroyed murals, mainly of white gypsum but with traces of blue and
red paint. A crude, unrealistic representation of a human figure with
incised eyes and human hands could be distinguished as well as a
design suggesting a headdress.

The cist in the bench 38″ above the floor contained 3 sherds of
Upper Gila Corrugated, 1 of Tusayan Polychrome, 1 of Chaco Corrugated.

The only data on the roof were provided by a few impressions in
adobe in the lower fill and in the ventilator tunnel of beams varying
from c. 3″ to c. 6″ in diameter.

Kiva 6.—The floor was, on an average, 6′ below the top of the side
wall, with bench 3′ above the floor on the north side. The fill appeared
to be mainly unintentional, composed of the cave-in from the walls and
roof (numerous wood fragments) and wind-deposited material. Sherds
were comparatively few in number. The pieces of broken metates may
represent intentional fill or may have been part of the walls. There was
charcoal and ash in the lower 3′ of fill but they gave the appearance
of having been wind-deposited.

Considerable plaster remained in the ventilator tunnel, on the
platform of the "keyhole," in bench and kiva walls. On the southwest
wall 31 layers were counted. Layer 5 showed the murals depicted in
Fig. 6. The designs (all in white except as indicated) are drawn to
scale—separating distances are indicated by arrows and figures.

Kiva roof remains were fragmentary. The roof of the ventilator
shaft, however, was in excellent condition. Nine juniper poles, c. 1½″
in diameter, had been laid at intervals of several inches across the
shaft. Over these at right angles was a 3-layer thickness of horsetail
reeds (Equisetum) covered with a 2″ layer of adobe mud. This was
surmounted by split slabs of juniper laid at right angles to the reeds.
Several heavy stones were on top of the juniper slabs.

On the kiva floor, against the north wall near the deflector, was
found the skull of an adult male with a fracture (which appeared
to be pre-mortem) in the pterion region, anterior to stephanion.
There were no indications in the kiva fill of a burial pit, and the
sandy earth in and around the skull seemed clearly to have been
wind-deposited. There appeared to be the marks of a stone knife

Figure 6—Murals in Kiva 6

on the basilar portion of the occipital. In the room fill, about 1′ above
the skull, were found the 2nd and 3rd cervical vertebrae in the position
of articulation. Within a few inches of these were found the 6th and
7th right ribs. On the kiva floor was also found the skull of a dog.

Discussion.—The most noteworthy facts about the kivas (apart
from sherd evidence) would seem to be: (1) the great variety in
architectural features, (2) the presence of human bones in 5 out of
6 kivas, (3) the presence of murals in 2 kivas.

Section D

Pottery Evidence

Whole Forms.[3] —A list by types may well form the basis for the
discussion: 11 Escavada: 2 jars, 1 effigy jar, 2 bowls, 1 ladle, 1 bowl or
dipper, 1 pitcher, 3 small effigies—dog's (?) head, mouse (?), bird (?);
10 Gallup: 5 pitchers, 2 bowls, 1 dipper, 1 effigy, 1 worked sherd;
9 McElmo: 4 bowls, 2 ladles, 1 bowl or dipper, 1 pitcher, 1 frog effigy;
7 Red Mesa: 3 bowls, 1 pitcher, 1 ladle, 1 jar, 1 effigy; 4 Exuberant:

2 jars, 1 pitcher, 1 bowl; 4 Wingate Black on Red: 3 bowls, 1 worked
sherd; 2 Lino: 1 dipper, 1 effigy jar; 2 Upper Gila Corrugated; 1
bowl each of Sunset Red, La Plata Black on White, Deadman's Black
on Red. The Red Mesa ladle, the worked sherds, the Escavada
mouse (?) effigy, and one pot of Exuberant Corrugated came from
the debris of the refuse mound, while a bowl and pitcher of Red Mesa
and the pitcher of Exuberant Corrugated were with the cist
burial 60/31. All other vessels came from rooms and kivas, and the
vast majority of these were associated with burials (cf. Table 3).

In general, the distribution of whole vessel types is roughly similar
to that of sherd percentages. (See Table 2.) Escavada and Gallup
are the two most prominent types, if we take the sherds found in
rooms and kivas as a whole. The obvious discrepancy is in the relative
unimportance of Exuberant and Lino in the collection of whole vessels.
This, however, is clearly due to the fact that these utility wares were
not frequently used as grave furniture and hence had small chance
of preservation in whole form. (The only exceptions are the Exuberant
vessels with burials 17 and 31.) Another difference which attracts
attention is that, while there are more vessels of McElmo than of
Red Mesa, there are very distinctly more sherds of the latter type.
Since it seems likely that many of the burials, at least, date from a
period after the rooms in question had been abandoned, the question
therefore arises: is McElmo perhaps a pottery type which appears
relatively late at Bc 51? This appears very unlikely, however, when
we note that a McElmo bowl was found on the floor of the substructure
of Room 17. Another, found beneath the superstructure floor of
Room 16 contained wind-stratified sand, suggesting that it had been
abandoned in situ. Moreover, McElmo vessels were found associated
with Red Mesa and Deadman's Black on Red forms—both supposedly
rather early types.

Since association of vessels of two or more different pottery types
with a single burial generally means at least some overlap in the
period of usage of these types, let us note the instances given by our
data: Escavada, Gallup, Red Mesa, McElmo, and Upper Gila Corrugated
all occur together in one or more cases. Escavada and Sunset
Red occur in association, as do Wingate Black on Red, McElmo, and
Deadman's Black on Red. McElmo is, in a sense, the most omnipresent
ware at Bc 51, for whole forms appear in essentially all parts of the
site and at the most varied levels. In contrast, no complete vessels
of Escavada or Gallup were found in the rooms north of kiva 5 nor in
any of the substructures.

Sherds

An Experiment.—Since sherds of certain types possess the
property of fracturing more easily than those of other types, and since
sherds from loci where there has been unusual weight, pressure, or

Table 2
ROOM AND KIVA SHERD PERCENTAGES

other physical disturbance may have broken into smaller fragments,
there is perhaps a possibility that percentage differences under some
circumstances might be deceptive. A priori, it seems plausible that
when dealing with large samples the cancellation of plus and minus
factors would obviate these difficulties, but I know of no empirical
examination of the question. As a small test, C. T. R. Bohannon
suggested that relative weights might be tried. We were aware, of
course, that using weights would bring other irrelevancies and difficulties
into the picture, but the experiment seemed, nevertheless,
worth trying. Time and the pressure of other duties did not permit us
to carry the experiment to a satisfactory conclusion, but the simple
facts on samples of 8 pottery types are presented for whatever of
interest, stimulation, or amusement they may induce:

             

Pottery Type	Number of Sherds	Weight in Ounces	Relative Weight in Ounces per 100 Sherds
Exuberant	834	359	43.0
Escavada	595	200	33.6
Lino	435	131	30.1
Red Mesa	276	90	32.6
Gallup	194	92	47.4
McElmo	75	32	42.6

(Sherds came from various quarters of the excavation and all were
soaked overnight in water to equalize saturation.) It will be evident
that in some situations rank order taken by weight and by percentage
could be expected to be different.

Sherd Percentages.—The evidence is given in Table 2,[4] but since
the table is very compact, some analysis is perhaps called for.

The outstanding contrast with the sherd data from the refuse
mound is probably the position of Lino. As Dr. Hawley pointed out,
Lino is there the numerically ranking type at all levels examined,
although appreciably more predominant in the lower levels. In the
rooms and kivas, however, Lino is in majority at floor level only in
room 10 and kiva 2 and in the fill of rooms 9 and 23 (sub). It is
second ranking type at floor level in rooms 21 and 22 (sub) and kivas
5 and 6; also in the fill of rooms 16 (super) and 18 and of kivas
1 and 2. We note, however, that it is unequivocally predominant at

the 3′ to 6′ sub-floor level in rooms 1 and 3 and the ranking type at the
0-3′ sub-floor level of rooms 3, 4, and 7, and kivas 3 and 4 (and a
close second at this level in rooms 1, 2, and 8). One simple generalization
can be made with confidence: as one descends to the lower
levels in the northern portion of Bc 51 (and the adjacent refuse
mound) Lino rises sharply and unmistakably in prominence. It seems
plausible to connect this fact with the hypothesis that the Lino Gray
and Lino Fugitive Red pottery types were those manufactured in
greatest quantity by the pithouse dwellers.

In the rooms and kivas the ranking position is taken by another
utility ware, Exuberant Corrugated, which is in majority at floor
level in all save rooms 7, 10, 15, 20, 22 (super), 23 (super) and kivas
2 and 6, and in about an equal number of the fills. Escavada is the
most prominent painted type, having the ranking percentage at floor
level in 4 rooms and 2 kivas and in the fill of 4 rooms and 1 kiva
and being second at floor level in 3 rooms and 1 kiva and in the fill
of 10 rooms and 3 kivas. Red Mesa is distinctly less prominent than
in Bc 50, for it is first only in one sub-floor level and in the fill of one
room, and at floor level appears in the 2nd and 3rd categories but
3 times. Gallup runs more frequently than Red Mesa in the 3rd and
4th brackets but, in contrast to Bc 50, never attains 1st place.

No single floor level can be assigned to a Red Mesa pottery complex.
Almost without qualification, the rooms and kivas are characterized
by that pottery complex of which Exuberant and Escavada
are the outstanding types, while sub-floor levels show a consistent
rise in percentage of Lino and (in many cases) of Red Mesa. The
only putatively trade wares found, which have not been discussed
or referred to by Dr. Hawley,[5] are Deadman's Black on White,[6] and
Puerco Black on White.[7]

Sherd evidence affords no unequivocal indications as to relative
age of the various rooms and kivas, though possibly a somewhat
greater age of kiva 5 may be indicated by the absence of Gallup and
other putatively late types in significant percentages. It is noteworthy
that the pottery complexes of the substructure are hardly distinguishable
from those of upper rooms, generally. The rise of Red Mesa to
2nd place at floor level and of Lino to 1st in floor fill of room 23 (sub)
prompted investigation, but the use of the chi-squared test of significance
gave odds of less than 1 in 3 that the difference was meaningful.
Similarly, there is no statistical warrant for taking the position of
Lino in rooms 9 and 10 and in kiva 2 very seriously. (The samples
in room 9 and kiva 2 are so small that, in any case, inference would be

hazardous in the extreme). Wall sherd data (unfortunately very
limited) does not change the general picture.

Careful study of percentages by levels indicated a probably significant
rise in Gallup in the upper levels (and also in the northern
as opposed to the southern rooms of the ruin). Although found at
floor and sub-floor levels associated with Red Mesa, Gallup is definitely
more prominent at surface or near surface levels. For example the
17 sherds in the firepit to the southwest of the surface of kiva 2 gave:
Gallup, 59; Chaco Corrugated, 23; Exuberant, 12; Deadman's Black
on Red, 6. Similarly, though less consistently, Chaco Black on White
and Chaco Corrugated bulk larger in the northern area and in levels
nearer the surface.

Analyzing the fill by levels and taking a pottery complex as
defined by the three most numerous types, 90 per cent of the complexes
by levels are made up of varying permutations of these types: Exuberant,
Escavada, Lino, Gallup, Red Mesa (with Exuberant present in
some position in more than 95 per cent of instances). Into roughly 10
per cent of the complexes by levels one of the following enters: McElmo,
Wingate Black on Red, Chaco Corrugated, Sunset Red, Chaco
Black on White, Kana-a Black on White, La Plata Black on White.

In the sum, the data of Table 2 affords some confirmation of the
general stratigraphic sequence of the Lino, Red Mesa, and Escavada
pottery complexes posited in Part I, Section A, but suggest that the
period when floor and room and kiva fill sherds accumulated fell within
the ascendancy of the Escavada complex. The evidence indicates
considerable trade.

Section E

Dating and Discussion

Dating.—Many wood specimens were obtained (the great majority
of juniper and cottonwood), but they were almost all rather badly
decayed. Dr. Hawley informs me that "most of the pine specimens
were too complacent in growth to be dateable; they had grown on
too well-watered land to be very dependent on annual precipitation."
Two beams from room 7 were, however, dated by Dr. Hawley and
checked by Dr. Haury. The one gave a bark date of 1043, the other
1077 plus 1 to 10. Two walls of room 7 showed refacing on the
interior in masonry of the Narrow Banded with Core Type. In Dr.
Hawley's opinion, the later date very probably indicates when the
room was repaired.

These two dates cannot, of course, be taken as representative of
the ruin's principal period of floruit. They give evidence only that
one room was used at least as late as these dates. Nevertheless the
presence of Sunset Red potsherds persistently on the floor level of
4 rooms and 3 kivas (and in the fill of most other rooms and kivas)
gives some ground for suspecting that a considerable portion of

Bc 51 was used at least as late as 1050. Colton and Hargrave[8] date
this pottery type as c. 1050 to 1200 and, while these authors are careful
to insist that the dates assigned be not taken too seriously, it is well
known that most of the Flagstaff region pottery types have been
scrupulously dated by association with tree ring chronology. On
the other hand, Deadman's Black on Red, a type dated by the same
authors at 750 to 900,[9] is found at floor level in one of the same
structures, as well as in other locations. Perhaps the few latter sherds
are intrusive or perhaps pottery types have greater overlaps than
pottery specialists have tended to recognize. The latter possibility
gains weight when we remember that whole vessels of such types as
Red Mesa and Gallup, Escavada and Sunset Red were found associated
with single burials.

All in all, neither tree ring nor pottery evidence would justify
more than the veriest guess as to the interval between the first building
in Bc 51 and the final abandonment. One point of great interest
should, however, be explicitly made. The weight of the data clearly
falls in favor of the hypothesis that Bc 51 was occupied (or, at very
least, used) synchronously (in part) with the occupation of the great
pueblos such as Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl.

Except for the evidence from masonry types (and somewhat
confirmed by pottery) that the northern end of Bc 51 was somewhat
more recent in construction and usage than the southern, very little
can be said even as to the relative age of various portions of the
ruin. Although excavation of the substructure rooms was not completed
in all cases, the evidence, so far as it goes, is against their being
definitely of an earlier period, as seemed to be the case in Bc 50. Here
there was not the sharp distinction in masonry type and in associated
pottery (nor did other artifacts show consistent differences between
sub- and superstructure levels). Certainly there is no evidence of an
appreciable time distinction between the lower and the upper rooms.
Indeed, judging by the comparative insensitivity of pottery and
artifact complexes and by negative evidence, there seems no reason
to believe that the rooms of Bc 51 were used over any very long
time span.

Discussion.—The excavation of the rooms and kivas of Bc 51
amplified and extended slightly the range of variation, but hardly
altered significantly the picture obtained by the excavation of Bc 50.
Available data do suggest that the construction of Bc 51 perhaps
began later and probably continued longer.

One of the most interesting features of Bc 51, as of Bc 50, is

that of the presence of a large number of burials in rooms. Dutton
found no adult burials in the rooms of Łeyit Kin.[10] Senter[11] has
reviewed the reported facts as to room burials in Chetro Ketl, Pueblo
Bonito, and Peñasco Blanco. The striking circumstance is that the
proportion of room burials to number of rooms is markedly greater

Figure 7—Scattered Bones in Room 5

Pot 1, Red Mesa Black on White; Pot 2, McElmo Ladle;

Pot 3, Red Mesa Bird Form; Pot 4, McElmo Bowl; Pot 6,

Deadman's Black on Red Bowl; Pot 7, Wingate Bowl.

at Bc 50 to 51 than for other published Chaco sites and indeed for
Southwestern sites generally. This fact induced many fruitless
speculations on the part of staff members—such as the possible significance
of the closeness of Casa Rinconada. One possibility which did
seem to merit close analysis was that the abandoned rooms of Bc 51
were used as burial places by those living in the large pueblos across
the canyon. However, study of the grave furniture indicates that it
could well be a random sample of the pottery and other artifacts
found at floor level and other loci in the ruin as a whole, except that the
predominance of Gallup Black on White with burials 15, 17, 18, and 26
in room 2 may possibly indicate a period appreciably later than that
characteristic of the ruin generally. In contrast, the Red Mesa and
Deadman's Black on Red vessels associated with some of the room 5
burials should—according to accepted views of the period of these
types—mean a relatively early date. Some burials, such as those in
room 5 (see Fig. 7), were badly scattered. But the fact that some
bones were found still in the position of articulation militates against
the chance of secondary burial and points rather to disturbance by
carnivores or rodents. This alternative gains force from the fact that
certain isolated human bones found in the refuse heap appeared
gnawed. In rooms 15 and 20 there was satisfactory evidence that
burials had occurred before the roofs had collapsed.

TABLE 3—BURIALS—CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS

                                       

Burial[12] No.	Position of Body	Orientation	Location[13]	Wrappings	Accompanying Objects	Pottery Vessels[14]
[fraction 60 by 8]	partially flexed, on left side	E-W, facing south	Room 2	twilled mat	mano	S1 G1
[fraction 60 by 9]	partially flexed	E-W, facing southeast	Room 2	cotton cloth, twilled mat	mano	G1 (?)
[fraction 60 by 10]	extended	E-W, facing down	Room 2 below burial 60/8	twilled mat, twined mat, feather cloth		S1, F1
[fraction 60 by 12]	disturbed		Room 5	twilled mat, feather cloth	2 pieces of malachite	E2 M1
[fraction 60 by 13]	disturbed		Room 5		headboard	D1, W1, U1
[fraction 60 by 14]	disturbed		Room 5	twilled mat feather cloth
[fraction 60 by 15]	partially flexed, on right side	E-W, facing south and down	Room 2 below burial 60/10	twilled mat,[15] feather cloth	two bone beads, coiled basket	G5, E2,[16] M1, U1
[fraction 60 by 16]	partially flexed, on right side	E-W, facing south	Room 2 beneath 1st floor level
[fraction 60 by 17]	extended, on back (child)	E-W, facing up	Room 2 below burial 60/22	twilled mat	corn cob, three bone beads headboard	X1
[fraction 60 by 18]	extended, on back	E-W, facing south	Room 2	twilled mat		S1
[fraction 60 by 19]	disturbed (adult & child)		Room 7	matting
[fraction 60 by 22]	extended, on back (child)	E-W, facing up	Room 2 beside burial 60/18	tweilled mat
[fraction 60 by 24]	extended	N-S, facing east and down	Room 20	twined mat?	bone awl, squash seed, selenite crystal
[fraction 60 by 25]	disturbed		Room 18		"Bird's-nest" coiled basket (?)
[fraction 60 by 26]	partially flexed, on right side	E-W, facing north	Room 2 below 1st floor level	matting	turquoise, headboard	G2
[fraction 60 by 27]	flexed right side	E-W, facing south	Room 21		mano	W1, E1
[fraction 60 by 29]	flexed, on left side (infant)	E-W, facing south	Room 2 below 1st floor
[fraction 60 by 31]	extended on back with right arm under right pelvis (adult female)	W-E, facing up (See Plate 4)	Trench 26 Section 7		trough metate	M2, X1
[fraction 60 by 32]	partially flexed, on left side	S-N, facing west	Room 2 below 1st floor level			S1