ASM Occasional Electronic Papers No. 1: Homol'ovi IV

Chapter Seven:
Architecture, cont.

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Structure 2

Figure 7.6 Structure 2, floor

Figure 7.7 Structure 2, plan view (Illustration Doug Gann)

Figure 7.8 Structure 2, profile, view east (Illustration Doug Gann)

Phase, Location and Use: Tuwiuca Phase, Center of Plaza, Ritual structure.

Area and Wall Information: Structure 2 originates at plaza surface 2. It is about 3.40 sq. m (Figure 7.6). Both the south and west walls of the structure are intact but the north and east are not. The east wall measures 1.70 m long and 48 cm high (Figure 7.7). The bottom of the wall is bedrock capped by trash fill. Upright stone slabs extended above the height of the bedrock, about 48 cm high, to contain the loose trash. The slabs are coped to the floor and held in place by adobe. The north wall measures 1.80 m long and 50 cm high. Its base is also cut from bedrock. The south wall measures 1.93 m long and 65 cm high. The bottom of the wall is bedrock topped by a layer of cultural fill, which is overlain by a four-course high masonry wall. Feature 4, possibly a combination ventilator and box-like entryway, is on the western end of the south wall. It measures 20 cm by 40 cm by 33 cm (deep) and is partly cut into the bedrock. Its bottom is 40 cm above the floor. Similar to the east wall, the west wall is built of slabs and measures 1.95 m long and 72 cm high.

Roof: There is evidence of a roof in the fill, which consists of sooted adobe chunks with stick impressions and small burned rocks. However, no burned or unburned wood was recovered.

Floors: The floor is constructed of prepared adobe and it was in good condition. The floor has 3 features. Feature 1, a hearth, measured 39 cm by 35 cm. It is located along the center of the south wall. Two strata were visible within the hearth. The upper is a reddish-yellow layer and the lower is a gray ash layer that is hard packed with charcoal. It appears that adobe copes up against the hearth and lines the bottom of the bedrock. Associated with the hearth and between it and the entry box are vertical slabs that probably served as deflectors. Feature 2 is a heart-shaped storage pit, measuring 29 cm by 40 cm and 5 cm deep. It is adjacent to the hearth on the north side and is either an ash pit or simply where the floor had eroded away. The bottom is unlined bedrock. One lithic and a burned slab were found in the pit's fill. Feature 5 is a possible ventilator feature in the south wall of the structure above the hearth. This feature had collapsed and because its walls are the trash fill, it was difficult to discern its true size and use. Feature 3 is 55 cm by 55 cm and located in the northwest corner of the structure. It consists of two upright flagstones set in adobe surrounding a horizontal slab. Given that the bottom of the feature is bedrock, the slab would not be necessary for a storage bin. This suggests it was a mealing bin.

Fill: The structure had about 75 cm of fill (Figure 7.8). Pothunters removed the northern third of the structure's fill. About 0.4 m3 of rock was removed from the structure indicating the walls extended several courses higher. The stratigraphy of the deposits sloped from the edges to the center of the room. The roof and wall fall are concentrated toward the center and northern end of the structure. An enormous ash deposit was found in the south end of the structure in the vicinity of the hearth and entryway of the southeast wall. This deposit sloped from the south wall into the center of the structure suggesting it was filled with trash and ash from the south side shortly after it was abandoned.

Discussion: This is a small, square pit structure excavated through cultural deposits into bedrock. Its shape is square: its size is small. Except for a pothole dug into the northwest corner of the structure, which did not reach the floor, the deposits were undisturbed.

This structure's architecture presents an interesting problem because its traits do not fit one specific type of structure. These traits may represent real variation in form or may simply be misidentified. In comparison to Kayenta structures from the Tsegi phase, which roughly corresponds to the timeline of the site, structure 2 might be a "grinding room" or a "living room." According to Lindsay (1969:122) grinding rooms in the Kayenta area had entry boxes, were excavated partially into the ground, separated from the room block, and had multiple mealing bins. This description fits structure 2 except it has only one possible mealing bin and also has a hearth, which Kayenta Anasazi mealing rooms do not. The presence of the hearth is more similar to living rooms in the Kayenta area, but these typically are not separate from other structures and do not have mealing bins. Its form and semi-subterranean nature are most similar to the kiva, structure 1. The structure appears to have a unique role at Homol'ovi IV. Its location in the plaza suggests a ceremonial role and in the Homol'ovi Research Program's structure use designations it most closely fits that of ritual structure.

Chapter: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

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