The positions of all these ceremonial chambers seem to correspond with
exceptionally rough and broken portions of the mesa top, showing that
their location in relation to the dwelling clusters was due largely to
accident and does not possess the significance that position does in
many ancient pueblos built on level and unencumbered sites, where the
adjustment was not controlled by the character of the surface.
The Walpi promontory is so abrupt and difficult of access that there is
no trail by which horses can be brought to the village without passing
through Hano and Sichumovi, traversing the whole length of the mesa
tongue, and crossing a rough break or depression in the mesa summit
close to the village. Several foot trails give access to the village,
partly over the nearly perpendicular faces of rock. All of these have
required to be artificially improved in order to render them
practicable. Plate XXV, from a photograph, illustrates one of these
trails, which, a portion of the way, leads up between a huge detached
slab of sandstone and the face of the mesa. It will be seen that the
trail at this point consists to a large extent of stone steps that have
been built in. At the top of the flight of steps where the trail to the
mesa summit turns to the right the solid sandstone has been pecked out
so as to furnish a series of footholes, or steps, with no projection or
hold of any kind alongside. There are several trails on the west side of
the mesa leading down both from Walpi and Sich?movi to a spring below,
which are quite as abrupt as the example illustrated.
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