The inclosed spaces, averaging in size
about 10 feet square, are used for the cultivation of red peppers,
beans, etc., which, during the dry season, are watered by hand. These
inclosures, situated close to the dwellings, suggest a probable
explanation for similar inclosures found in many of the ruins in the
southern and eastern portions of the ancient pueblo region. Mr.
Bandelier was informed by the Pimas[10] that these inclosures were
ancient gardens. He concluded that since acequias were frequent in the
immediate vicinity these gardens must have been used as reserves in case
of war, when the larger fields were not available, but the manner of
their occurrence in Zu?i suggests rather that they were intended for
cultivation of special crops, such as pepper, beans, cotton, and perhaps
also of a variety of tobacco--corn, melons, squashes, etc., being
cultivated elsewhere in larger tracts. There is a large group of gardens
on the bank of the stream at the southeastern corner of Zu?i, and here
there are slight indications of terracing. A second group on the steeper
slope at the southwestern corner is distinctly terraced. Small walled
gardens of the same type as these Zu?i examples occur in the vicinity of
some of the Tusayan villages on the middle mesa. They are located near
the springs or water pockets, apparently to facilitate watering by hand.
Some of them contain a few small peach trees in addition to the
vegetable crops ordinarily met with.
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