University of Virginia Library

Substructure 6 (Underlying Room 20)

Form.—(See Fig. 14.) The form of the room was undetermined
for the excavation was incomplete. Only that portion of substructure
6 which was not directly overlaid by remaining superstructure walls
was excavated. This resulted in the clearing of an L-shaped floor
space.

Walls.—The rocks were laid in fairly regular lines and plaster
was heavily applied. It was not determined whether slab bases were
present. Superstructure walls were superimposed over those of the
substructure. (See Fig. 15B.)

Roofing.—There was no evidence other than the imprints on two
blocks of adobe in the fill above the substructure floor. One of these
was curved to fit a small beam (?), and the other contained impressions
of small twigs laid in heterogeneous fashion.

Floors and Special Features.—Two feet below the superstructure
floor level was the first substructure floor. This was trenched through
to a depth of 3′ without finding other material.

On the west wall, 6′ 3″ from the northwest corner, was a bin of
slabs (Bin A), set in a ring of mortar and with plaster covering the
stones. This bin was approximately 3′ in diameter and varied in
height from 2″ to 9″. It contained two artifacts of petrified wood,
apparently hammerstones, slightly embedded in the floor level. The
ring of mortar in which the stones were set went entirely around the
bin, leaving but one gap. A second bin (Bin B) occurred in the northeast
section where the kiva wall cut across the room. It was also of
stone slabs set in adobe and the portion uncovered (only a part of the
bin) measured 3′ 1″ in circumference.

An upright log approximately 4″ in diameter was uncovered 1′ 8″
from the edge of Bin A and 2′ 11″ from the west wall. This log came
from fill over which was standing a superstructure wall. The base of
the log rested upon a mano set into the substructure floor level with the
smooth, used side as a surface for supporting the wood. The beam
extended 23″ into the dirt fill above the floor. Its top end, which
showed weathering, was covered by masonry and plaster from the
superstructure wall foundations. Along this face the strata were
irregular.

A second beam was found in similar circumstances on the east
face of the fill, 8′ 9″ from the northwest corner and 2′ 11″ from the
most outward portion of Bin A on the west wall. This beam terminated
at floor level. The post hole, 8″ by 10″ and almost rectangular, was
sunk into the floor level to a depth of 7″. The hole was lined with a
quarter to half inch layer of carbonaceous shale.

Room Fill.

• 1. Wind and water deposited fill. This extended 2′ below the superstructure
  level and contained adobe lumps (presumably from the
  roof), charcoal, and sherds.

• 2. Floor level. This substructure floor was 2′ below the superstructure
  floor.

• 3. Hard adobe below substructure floor. A pit 2′ wide and 3′ deep
  was run from the east wall of fill to the bin, cutting through hard
  adobe barren of occupational evidence except for a single mano.

Burials.—There were none as far as work progressed.

Animal Bones.—Some.

Artifacts.—Four hammerstones, three smoothing stones, two
manos, one smoothing instrument of petrified wood, one bone awl, and
a slim tanged projectile point of obsidian.

Pottery Percentages.

                         

	Wall Sherds (north wall of Room 20, extending down into Substructure 6)	Room fill down to 2′ below Superstructure Floor
Kana-a Gray	57	9
McElmo B on W	14
Exuberant Cor.	14	3
Gallup B on W	7
Sandstone B on O	7
Lino Gray		24
Red Mesa B on W		30
Escavada B on W		30
La Plata B on W
Wingate B on R
Abajo B on R		3
Total number of sherds in sample	14	33