A number of beams, rafters, and roofing planks, seen in the
Chaco pueblos, were probably squared and finished in this way. The
latter examples show a degree of familiarity with this treatment of wood
that would enable the builders to construct such doors with ease. As
yet, however, no examples of wooden doors have been seen in any of the
pre-Columbian ruins.
The pueblo type of paneled door is much more frequently seen in Cibola
than in Tusayan, and in the latter province it does not assume the
variety of treatment seen in Zu?i, nor is the work so neatly executed.
The views of the modern pueblos, given in Chapters III and IV, will
indicate the extent to which this feature occurs in the two groups. In
the construction of a paneled door the vertical stile on one side is
prolonged at the top and bottom into a rounded pivot, which works into
cup-like sockets in the lintel and sill, as illustrated in Fig. 76. The
hinge is thus produced in the wood itself without the aid of any
external appliances.
[Illustration: Fig. 76. Wooden pivot hinges of a Zu?i door.]
It is difficult to trace the origin of this device among the pueblos. It
closely resembles the pivot hinges sometimes used in medi?val Europe in
connection with massive gates for closing masonry passages; in such
cases the prolonged pivots worked in cavities of stone sills and
lintels. The Indians claim to have employed it in very early times, but
no evidence on this point has been found.
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