The Project Gutenberg EBook of Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona, by Albert H. Schroeder and Homer F. Hastings This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. Title: Montezuma Castle National Monument, Arizona Author: Albert H. Schroeder Homer F. Hastings Release Date: August 5, 2015 [EBook #49607] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONTEZUMA CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT *** Produced by Stephen Hutcheson, Dave Morgan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Montezuma Castle National Monument: Arizona UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN This publication is one of a series of handbooks describing the historical and archeological areas in the National Park System administered by the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing Office and may be purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D. C. For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 Stock No. 024-005-00176-0 / Catalog No. I 29.58:27 MONTEZUMA CASTLE NATIONAL MONUMENT Arizona by Albert H. Schroeder and Homer F. Hastings Decorated bowl NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES NO. 27 Washington, D. C. - 1958 (Reprint 1961) The National Park System, of which Montezuma Castle National Monument is a unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its people. FORCES OF EARTH MAN IN THE VERDE VALLEY SINAGUA PUEBLO LIFE MONTEZUMA CASTLE MONTEZUMA WELL HISTORY OF THE MONUMENT THE NATURAL SCENE HOW TO REACH THE MONUMENT ABOUT YOUR VISIT RELATED AREAS ADMINISTRATION GLOSSARY OF SPANISH AND INDIAN WORDS SUGGESTED READINGS 1 Contents Page 1 4 11 19 26 31 33 36 36 36 38 39 40 Montezuma Castle. 2 Metate. MONTEZUMA CASTLE, a pueblo ruin in the Verde River valley of central Arizona, has no connection with the Aztec emperor whose name it bears. The name was given by early settlers in the Verde Valley in the belief that the striking 5-story ruin with its 20 rooms had been built by Aztec refugees, fleeing from central Mexico at the time of the Spanish conquest. It follows naturally that the small lake inside a hill 7 miles away should be named Montezuma Well. While the story of the flight is known to be false, the names remain. The aboriginal builders of the Castle left no records, but they did leave broken pottery, trash, and other debris of their everyday life. The analysis of this material tells us that these people, whom we call Sinagua (see glossary), were peaceful farmers who occupied this area from the 1100’s until the 1400’s; that they were similar in physical type to many of today’s Pueblo peoples in northern Arizona and New Mexico; and that they differed somewhat in their daily life from their neighbors in the desert to the south and in the mountains and plateaus to the north. This is their story, and we hope that it can take you back in your mind’s eye to the time when their fingers left marks as they plastered the walls of Montezuma Castle, and to the time when their fires left the smoke deposits you still see on those walls. But this story must begin with the land itself.... Forces of Earth Montezuma Well and the cave in which Montezuma Castle is built both exist today because of a series of events that began over 1 million years ago. A flow of lava coming from the Black Hills at the south end of the Verde Valley closed the narrow canyon through which the Verde River then ran. This formed a natural dam and the river backed up against it to form a lake. Other rivers farther upstream added more water, and carried in large quantities of dissolved limestone from the higher elevations which they drained. Bird’s-eye view of Verde Valley landscape and geology. 4 3 5 Consequently, in late Pliocene times (perhaps 1 million years ago), the Verde Valley was covered by a shallow lake or marsh 25 to 40 miles long and 12 to 15 miles wide. Its extent can be determined by noting the boundary between the light-colored sedimentary limestone and the dark basalts or the red sandstone marking the old shoreline. This light-colored rock was redeposited from the original limestone beds upriver and, therefore, the entire formation is almost devoid of fossils. Well preserved cougar tracks, however, imbedded in a slab of limestone, were found a few miles north of Montezuma Castle near Cornville, Ariz. When the lake was at its maximum size the water reached a height where it began to flow over the top of the lava dam. During thousands of years of spilling over, the water gradually wore down through the lava until the entire lake drained away. The limestone that had been carried in and deposited on the lake bottom then became the new ground surface. Salts left by the evaporation of water were also deposited on the lake bottom. A deposit of this type can now be seen near Camp Verde. Although the formation is principally sodium carbonate, sodium chloride (common table salt) and sodium sulphate are also found. For many centuries early Indians mined salt deposits in this locality and a few years ago a deposit of sodium sulphate near Camp Verde was worked commercially. The same streams which brought lime in solution to the lake were sometimes turned into torrents by desert cloudbursts. At such times, they became muddy and left sand and silt among the lime deposits which were accumulating on the bottom of the lake. When the lake drained away, these deposits were exposed to erosion—the clay and silt were softer than the lime and eroded more rapidly leaving irregular cavities and caves of all sizes. It is in one of these caves that the Indians built Montezuma Castle. Today the pitted and jagged surface of the cliff appears like crumbling limestone. In places it is so soft it can be removed by the pressure of a finger. After the ancient lake drained, rain and melting snows from higher elevations continued to find their way into the valley where the water seeped below the ground, dissolving the limestone as it went. Underground river channels and caves were slowly formed by this water. One such channel, leading from a cave, was eventually cut through from the surface by the eroding waters of Beaver Creek. This allowed the water in the underground cave to pour out into the creek. The roof of the cave, weakened by the removal of this water and by solution cracks forming from the surface, soon collapsed to form Montezuma Well as it is seen today. It is due to this action that the Well is technically referred to as a limestone sink. Thus the slow, but powerful forces of earth shaped the Verde Valley into a congenial environment for man. Man in the Verde Valley The first human occupation of central Arizona began several thousand years ago. Very little is known about these Indians, but there is archeological evidence which indicates that they were hunters and food gatherers. These people had no pottery, and probably had no permanent houses or farms. The only objects recovered from their campsites have been their crude stone tools. One such site was discovered and investigated a short distance north of Montezuma Castle National Monument in 1949. Shortly after A. D. 600, the Verde Valley attracted another group of people. They were farmers who came from the south, near the vicinity of modern Phoenix. We call these people of southern Arizona, who were the first known permanent settlers in the Verde Valley, the “Hohokam.” They planted their crops in the bottom lands and built their houses on the adjacent terraces so they could overlook their fields. Their homes of poles, brush, and mud were individual dwellings large enough to house one family. Utensils in the home were few, but important. They consisted of plain, unpolished, gray-brown pottery, used to hold water and food; grinding stones on which corn, nuts, and berries were ground; and hammerstones for crushing or mashing food. Also, such objects as scrapers for working hides, points for arrows, and knives for skinning game have been recovered by archeologists. The Hohokam built a specialized structure not found among other prehistoric Indians of the Southwest. It was a prepared court, oval in shape, which bears a close similarity to the ball courts of Mexico. They may have played a game of some type on these courts which had some connection with their ceremonial rites, such as appears to have been the case in Central America. These people also had another trait which set them apart from other tribes—they cremated their dead. There is no evidence of Hohokam occupation at Montezuma Castle, but remains of Hohokam type are found at Montezuma Well. We can imagine that a party of Indian colonists, about 1200 years ago, was very pleased to discover the Well and was as startled as we are to find a lake inside a hill. In looking further, the Hohokam found the outlet on the south side of the Well through which a steady stream of water flowed, falling into Beaver Creek a few feet away. Here was a place to live! If this water could be diverted to the nearby flatlands, they would no longer need to depend on rain for their crops. The Indians set about their task. They fashioned some stone hoes and dug a small section of ditch at the base of the cliff between the Well 6 and Beaver Creek. After reaching the proper depth, a brush dam was made and the water was diverted from the outlet. Eager eyes watched the water enter and gradually fill their ditch. Another section was dug and water was again turned into it. High spots were noted and dug lower so the water would flow through. Rocky obstructions were broken with stone picks and river rocks. Sometimes the ground was too hard for their hoes, and water was allowed to flow in to soften it. Gradually their ditch was lengthened until it reached the flats which they planned to farm. Their work was not yet complete, for the fields had to be cleared. Brush was cut, and fires were built at the base of large trees to burn the trunks until they weakened and fell. Aerial view showing Montezuma Well and Beaver Creek. Rocks which were cleared from the farm areas were lined up to mark the edges of small plots. Dirt was thrown over these rocks so water would not escape when the plots were irrigated. Some of the brush was saved for making dams to divert water from the main ditch to each of the farm plots. Small limbs from fallen trees were fashioned into digging and planting sticks. The fields were leveled with their stone hoes and tree limbs were dragged over the soil in a final smoothing process. 7 Yucca-fiber sandal made by prehistoric Indians of Montezuma Castle. Finally they were ready for their planting. They had brought seeds of food crops—corn, beans, and squash—which were planted in these plots. Cotton was also planted. Then the water was turned onto the fields to complete their labor. During the course of their pioneering work, this small group of Indians probably lived on the edge of the bluff above the fields and in three small caves along the bluff bordering their ditch. Food was not lacking, as the plants in the area provided them with many essentials. Mesquite beans, a common staple among the Indians, were plentiful in the late summer and autumn, as were walnuts, berries, wild gourds, and sunflower seeds. Other plants, particularly yucca, supplied necessary fibers for making sandals, matting, cordage, baskets, and other articles. Reeds and hardwoods were available to make bows and arrows and other wooden implements for hunting rabbits and ducks around the Well. Hunting parties no doubt went to the foothills for larger game such as deer. At about the same time that the Hohokam were in the valley, another group of Indians whom we call the “Sinagua,” lived in the forested foothills to the north and east, and on the plateau above. Their small villages were located in open areas that could be dry farmed, as they depended on rain water for their crops. Their houses, like those of the Hohokam, were made of poles, brush, and mud; however, they were dug into the ground, with just a small portion of the walls and the roof projecting above the ground level. 8 Sunset Crater north of Flagstaff. Their utensils and habits were similar to those of the Hohokam, though different in some respects. For example, in contrast to the Hohokam practice, the Sinagua polished their plain brown pottery. Also, it is known that after 1070, they buried their dead in an extended position instead of cremating them as the Hohokam did. Although the Sinagua were basically farmers like the Hohokam, at this time they depended to a greater extent on foods they gathered and meat they hunted than they did later. About 1070, some of the Hohokam left the valley. Evidently many of these emigrants went north to the plateau region east of present-day Flagstaff, to plant in the moisture-conserving ash-fall area created by the eruption of Sunset Crater in 1064. Shortly after these Hohokam departed, many of the Sinagua moved down from the hills into the middle of the Verde Valley. This occurred about 1125. They lived much as they had before, but with two important changes: they adopted the Hohokam idea of irrigation, and they began building surface houses of rock and mud—an idea acquired from still another group, the Pueblo Indians, farther north. These Sinagua were the people who built the stone pueblos we find in the valley today. At first they erected small settlements on well-drained ridges overlooking their farmlands. Occasionally, also, caves were utilized for dwellings; the first 3 or 4 rooms of Montezuma Castle were evidently built in the 1100’s. From 1125 to 1200, the settlement at Montezuma Well was increased by groups of these Sinagua Indians who had left their homes in the foothills to the north and east. It appears that they joined some of the remaining Hohokam, as several customs of the latter survived up to 1400. In this period the Sinagua also utilized caves near their fields, and built a small pueblo on the west rim of Montezuma Well. Limestone rock for their masonry was available on the rim of the Well, and river boulders for foundations were taken from the creek. Mud and clay, which they mixed for their mortar, were easily obtained along the creek. 9 Ancient irrigation ditch near Montezuma Well. As the years passed, more land was put under cultivation and more ditches were constructed. To insure adequate care of their farmland, 1- and 2-room “farm” structures were built on the slopes above and along the course of the main ditch. From these, the occupants were able to view the fields while irrigating and also could divert the water from the ditch below them whenever necessary. At their peak, the people at Montezuma Well were farming about 60 acres, or possibly more, and their main ditch was about 1 mile long. Cut-away model of Montezuma Castle. The Sinagua of the Verde generally lived in small pueblos until about 1250, at which time the center of the valley appears to have undergone a “real estate boom.” The buildings increased in size, and many of them were converted into forts with defensive walls, parapets, peepholes, and sealed doorways. Since the pueblos on the north and east fringes of the valley were abandoned in the 1200’s, it is believed that the Sinagua of that area probably were the ones who moved in to increase the population and size of the central villages. 10 11 This move to the center of the valley was probably caused by nearly a century of almost continuous drought which began about 1200 and culminated in an especially severe drought from 1276 to 1299. Many of the Sinagua in the modern Flagstaff region to the north began to leave their dry-farming area in the early 1200’s. They also seem to have migrated into the Verde Valley. Since they had depended on rainfall for their crops, it is quite possible that the drought affected their entire area, forcing them to move down from the Flagstaff area as well as from the northern and eastern parts of the valley. The occupants of the central region of the valley were able to survive because of the spring-fed streams upon which they depended for their irrigation and water supply. Such a move undoubtedly disturbed the balance of the people and the available food in the now overcrowded central area. Considerable friction must have arisen. The combination of too many people and not enough farmland may have eventually caused intervillage strife over water rights, with general population decline caused by soil exhaustion and the reduction of other resources. Montezuma Castle was built up to its present size at this time, reaching its maximum in the 1300’s. Consolidation was also in progress at Montezuma Well. Between 1300 and 1400, only 3 farm outlooks along that half of the irrigation ditch nearest the Well were occupied. In this way the area of settlement was contracted or reduced by abandonment of outlying sites. The concentration of population around the Well implies conflict of some sort; and, it was at this time that the large, definitely defensive pueblo on the rim was constructed. By 1400, or shortly thereafter, the Sinagua abandoned the Well. Shortly after 1400, in fact, Montezuma Castle and the entire Verde Valley were abandoned by the Sinagua. There is no direct evidence to supply us with the reason for this complete exodus—a combination of circumstances is the probable answer. A possible major factor causing the Sinagua to abandon the area may have been the Yavapai Indians whom the Spanish later encountered in the Verde Valley. The Yavapai could have been descendents of those Hohokam who had stayed in the valley and lived with the Sinagua between 1100 and 1400. (Like the Hohokam, the Yavapai cremated their dead, built pole-and-brush houses, and farmed small plots along the stream bottomlands.) If they were descendents of the Hohokam, the Yavapai might have been the victors in the intervillage strife that apparently occurred during the 1300’s and forced the Sinagua to leave the valley. Whatever the real reason, when the Sinagua left, they moved northeast and it is thought they eventually joined the ancestors of the modern Hopi Indians. Before the exodus, the Sinagua had obtained a black-on-yellow pottery from the Hopi country, so they knew the Hopi through their trade contacts. Oral traditions also indicate the possibility of such a move. The modern Hopi have legends of a people coming up from the south to join them. They say that these people were great warriors and that they had no priests or ceremonies. Since the Sinagua had no underground ceremonial chamber, or kiva, such as that of the Hopi, and since we lack evidence of ceremonialism among the Sinagua, these legends could well apply to them. Woven black-and-white cotton bag. Early Spanish explorers remarked on the vast amount of cotton grown and woven by the Hopi. The Sinagua had been great cotton growers and expert weavers while they lived in the Verde Valley. They may have been responsible in part for such a development among the Hopi, first through trade and later by actually joining the Hopi. Whatever the fate of the Sinagua, the Yavapai were in the Verde Valley when the Spanish reached the area in 1583. They described wild, but peaceful and friendly Indians in the region, living in huts instead of pueblos, planting corn, and hunting game. Similar references are made by later explorers. Although the names given them in the old Spanish documents are quite different, these people presumably were the Yavapai. Still later, the Western Apache came into the story of the Verde Valley. Just when they entered central Arizona is unknown; but since the 12 13 1860’s, certain Western Apache bands ranged as far west as the Verde. Two small caves at Montezuma Well show indications of Apache occupation, probably after 1800. Sinagua Pueblo Life The pre-Columbian Indians of the Southwest (northern Mexico to southern Utah and Colorado; eastern New Mexico to western Arizona) were, in general, settled and apparently peaceful farming peoples living in villages. The agricultural staples—corn, squash, and beans —were supplemented by gathering wild plants and hunting game. The main hunting weapon was the bow and arrow. Weapons and tools were made of various kinds of stone, animal bones, and wood. Pottery and basketry were used for utensils or containers. Montezuma Well showing collapsed ruin on opposite rim. Clothing included garments woven from cultivated cotton and a variety of bands, sandals, and other apparel made from yucca and other wild plants; animal skins also were utilized. Ornaments and ceremonial paraphernalia were made from such materials as turquoise, animal bones, imported sea shells, and brightly colored bird feathers. Implements and utensils found in the houses of these people include such objects as stone metates and manos for grinding corn, hammers, knives, drills, bone awls and needles, baskets, and many ornaments of shell and turquoise, often carved in bird and animal forms. Items missing from the pre-Spanish Indian culture include metals, livestock, wheeled vehicles, and writing. Life in the Sinagua pueblos of the Verde, though lacking the variety found in a modern city, had more of natural beauty and simplicity. Like any other people, the Sinagua would not have selected this spot for their homes if the necessities of their everyday life had not been present. In this region, their needs were filled by a good water supply, bottomlands for farming, wild berries and edible shrubs, game for meat, and materials for buildings, pottery, and tools. In addition, they had one thing which most Indians in Arizona had to travel great distances to obtain—a large deposit of salt. This they mined a few miles southwest of present-day Camp Verde where their collapsed tunnels can be traced even today. Occasionally the handle of a stone pick may still be seen projecting from a collapsed tunnel. Many bits of matting and unburned torches that the Indians apparently used for lighting their tunnels have been recovered. In 1928 several well-preserved Indian bodies were removed from one of these mines where they had been trapped when one of the tunnels caved in. The Sinagua also were fortunate in having a deposit of a red rock called argillite not too far away. From this material they fashioned stone pendants, beads, earrings, and other ornaments with which they adorned themselves. To satisfy their vanity further, the Indians imported luxuries not available in this area. Bracelets, pendants, beads, rings, and inlay made from shell were acquired by trade with tribes to the south who obtained the shell from the Gulf of California. The Sinagua also bartered for turquoise pendants, earrings, beads, and inlay pieces from other groups. Probably their greatest trade was in pottery. These Sinagua Indians rarely decorated their pottery, and judging by the quantity of painted pieces recovered from their sites, they engaged in lively trade for the wares of their northeastern neighbors. One might say that they imported their “china” in quantity. Through a study of this pottery we find that from about 1150 to 1250, decorated pieces were obtained from the Indians in the north, near 14 15 modern Flagstaff. Some of this pottery the Sinagua retraded to the Hohokam around present-day Phoenix. (How many of us today would be successful in taking dishes over a distance of 200 miles on foot without breaking a goodly portion?) After 1250, due to depopulation east of the Flagstaff area, the people of the Verde Valley obtained decorated pottery from the region farther east, around modern Winslow; and also, farther north, from the present Hopi Indian reservation area. The trade possibilities of the Sinagua were almost unlimited. They were located between the large Hohokam settlements of southern Arizona and the widespread pueblos of northern Arizona. Natural routes of travel along streams led them into both areas, and they had salt, argillite, and cotton to offer in exchange. Despite the importance of trade, which was primarily for luxury items, the Sinagua Indians were basically farmers and depended mainly on food they raised themselves. In Montezuma Castle, American pioneers found corncobs in abundance and sometimes the remains of beans and squash. There were also numerous corn-grinding stones or metates, made from basaltic boulders carried into the area by flood waters in Beaver Creek. Roughly rectangular, the stones measure about 14 by 18 inches, and are 6 to 8 inches thick. Corn was ground by rubbing a smaller stone (mano) back and forth on the metate. This process gradually wore a trough down into the metate. Montezuma Castle artifacts including piece of gourd with carved handle, squash, cotton bolls, spindle, and corn. Jars, metates and manos, and fireplace as found in excavated ruin at cliff base west of Montezuma Castle. The people also were gatherers and hunters to some extent. Remains of hackberries, mesquite beans, black walnuts, and sego-lily bulbs have been found in the cliff dwellings. Mescal or agave (sometimes called century plant) was used. Small wads or “quids” of fiber from this plant have been found; they were chewed by the Indians to extract the sweet juices. Although identifiable animal bones from Montezuma Castle and nearby dwellings are rare, they have been found in other pueblos in the valley. From a site about 10 miles away, bones of elk, mule deer, antelope, bear, rabbit, turtle, and fish have been recovered. Some food for winter use must have been held in storage. Probably the Castle dwellers, like the modern Hopis, stacked mature corn on 16 17 the cob across the end of a room like cordwood. Strings of squash, cut into rings and dried in the sun, were probably strung from the roof in an out-of-the-way corner. Meat was undoubtedly preserved in a similar fashion—by drying rather than smoking or salting it. Perhaps the stores of food and the seed held for the next spring’s planting were sought by neighboring pueblos where crops may have failed. As pointed out earlier, food shortages could have provided one of the principal reasons for intervillage warfare, especially after 1300 when the area became overcrowded. Cooking fires were kindled by the friction of a wooden spindle rotated in a hearth stick until enough heat was generated to ignite tinder. Perhaps some family in Montezuma Castle was responsible for maintaining a perpetual fire from which embers could be carried to other households. This is not so strange when we recall that only 100 years ago pioneer neighbors sometimes called on each other to borrow a coal of fire. These Sinagua Indians were artisans who manufactured pottery, and stone and shell ornaments. Their pottery was a reddish-brown ware (so colored from minerals in the native clay) and it was usually undecorated, though sometimes painted red. Sand was used as a tempering or binding agent. They made pottery bowls, cooking pots, and water jars—some of the latter of 3- or 4-gallon capacity. In refuse dumps near the dwellings, archeologists have found quantities of broken pottery—it is principally through a study of these dumps that the chronology of Indian occupation in this area is revealed. Pottery was made from clay found in the region. After the clay was pulverized, the correct amounts of water and tempering materials were added. There were no potter’s wheels, so the vessels were shaped by hand. The Sinagua accomplished this with the aid of a stone “anvil” held inside the pot and a wooden paddle used against the outside. Finishing was usually done by rubbing the surface perfectly smooth with a polishing stone or pebble dipped in water. Although some Indian pottery has a high polish, none of it carries a true, over-all glaze. Modern Indians, in firing their pottery, usually burn animal dung for fuel, but the pre-Columbian Indians used vegetable material, possibly juniper wood. Several pieces of pottery might be stacked together so that all would be evenly exposed to the heat of the fire. Large pieces of broken pottery were used to protect the new pieces from direct contact with the flames. The firing process required several hours, with time allowed for the pottery to cool slowly. Stone and shell ornaments are examples of other crafts, and some beautiful specimens have been found. The shells came from the Pacific Ocean or the Gulf of California and are believed to have been imported through trade with neighboring tribes. Prehistoric trade routes, over which specific types of shells were distributed, extended from the Gulfs of Mexico and California to north-central New Mexico and from the Pacific Ocean to southern Utah. The shell was worked in various ways. The tips were ground from olivella shells which were then strung on sinew and worn as beads. Larger shells were sometimes covered with a mosaic of turquoise and colored stones. The turquoise was mined with stone tools, and by the time it was removed from its matrix, cut, and polished, it represented a considerable investment of labor. Argillite found in the Verde River region was also mined. Lac, an insect secretion found on creosote bushes, was sometimes used to cement the turquoise and argillite to the shell base. The Sinagua also excelled in the art of weaving. They wove sandals, baskets, mats, and cotton fabrics. Some of the latter exhibit lace-like open work while other pieces are tightly woven resembling modern canvas. Cotton was raised here, near the fields of corn, and woven by the Sinagua into the finished articles. A few cotton bolls with lint and seeds have been found in the dwellings. Instead of spinning wheels, the Indians used a wooden spindle about the thickness of a lead pencil and perhaps 18 inches long. About 5 or 6 inches from one end there was a disc- or sphere-shaped counterweight made from a piece of wood or pottery. Corded cotton was spun into yarn by feeding it onto the end of the spindle as it was twirled between the thumb and fingers, or, between the hand and the thigh as the spinner sat on the ground. Among the modern Indians of the Southwest, the most and the best weaving is done by the Navajo, an Apache people who learned weaving only a few hundred years ago from the Pueblos. Modern Navajo weaving is done by the women. Weaving among modern Pueblos, notably the Hopi, is done by men; and ancient weaving of pre-Spanish Pueblos may have been men’s work also. 18 Bird-shaped ornament of turquoise mosaic on seashell. Pre-Columbian weaving with openwork design. Child burial in floor of third-story room in Montezuma Castle. Most weaving required the use of a loom, a rectangular vertical framework somewhat larger than the size of the finished product. Proper tension on vertical (warp) threads was maintained by lashing at the ends of the loom. Black and white patterns were known, and some red