Mr. F. Webb Hodge, recently connected with the Hemenway
Southwestern Archeological Exposition, under the direction of Mr. F. H.
Cushing, describes this form of opening as being of quite common
occurrence in the rooms of this long-buried pueblo. Here the doorways
are associated with the round slabs used for closing them. The latter
were held in place by props within the room. No slabs of this form were
seen at Kin-tiel, but quite possibly some of the large slabs of nearly
rectangular form, found within this ruin, may have served the same
purpose. It would seem more reasonable to use the rectangular slabs for
this purpose when the openings were conveniently near the floors. No
example of the stone-close has as yet been found in Tusayan.
The annular doorway described above affords the only instance known to
the writer where access openings were closed with a rigid device of
aboriginal invention; and from the character of its material this device
was necessarily restricted to openings of small size. The larger
rectangular doorways, when not partly closed by masonry, probably were
covered only with blankets or skin rugs suspended from the lintel.
In the discussion of sealed windows modern examples resembling the
stone-close device will be noted, but these are usually employed in a
more permanent manner.
The small size of the ordinary pueblo doorway was perhaps due as much to
the fact that there was no convenient means of closing it as it was to
defensive reasons.
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