Occasionally the sealing is
done with a thin slab of sandstone, somewhat larger than the opening,
held in place with mud plastering, or propped from the inside after the
manner of the "stone close" previously described. Fig. 92 illustrates
specimens of sealed openings in the village of Hano of the Tusayan
group. The upper window is closed with a single large slab and a few
small chinking stones at one side. The masonry used in closing the lower
opening is scarcely distinguishable from that of the adjoining walls.
Pl. CVI illustrates a similar treatment of an opening in a detached
house of Nutria, whose occupants had returned to the home pueblo of Zu?i
at the close of the harvesting season. The doorway in this case is only
partly closed, leaving a window-like aperture at its top, and the stones
used for the purpose are simply piled up without the use of adobe
mortar.
[Illustration: Fig. 92. Sealed openings in Tusayan.]
Windows and doors closed with masonry are often met with in the remains
of ancient pueblos, suggesting, perhaps, that some of the occupants were
absent at the time of the destruction of the village. When large
door-like openings in upper external walls were built up and plastered
over in this way, as in some ruins, the purpose was to economize heat
during the winter, as blankets or rugs made of skins would be
inadequate.
Besides the closing and reopening of doors and windows just described,
the modern pueblo builders frequently make permanent changes in such
openings.
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