Antiquities of the Jemez plateau, New Mexico / by Edgar L. Hewett.

  • Edgar Lee Hewett
Date:
1906
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Antiquities of the Jemez plateau, New Mexico / by Edgar L. Hewett. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    55/102 (page 47)
    No. Jf-Jf. Astialakwa.—An interesting group of ruined buildings is situated on the high and almost inaccessible promontory, a mesa rem- nant, overlooking the ruin at the confluence of the east and west branches of Jemez creek, just described. The ruins stand a short dis- tance back from the front of the promontory and,near the brink of the cliffs on the west side (fig. 28, h). The walls are of unhewn stone, and bear evidence of hurried and apparently incomplete construction, there being a notable absence of debris of any kind. Traces of mortar occur in the walls, and a little plaster still remains on the interior sur- faces. The walls are in no place more than five or six feet in height. The buildings are in a number of groups, as indicated roughly in the sketch. . . . There can be little doubt that this village was built at the period of Spanish encroachment by the people of the vil- lages below as a place of refuge and defense, and it was here, accord- ing to historical accounts, that they were defeated by the Spaniards and compelled to descend to the lowlands. . . . It is an interesting fact that along the margins of the precipice are traces of defensive works built of stone. No. Jf.5. Giusewa.—A ruined pueblo of considerable importance is situated at Jemez Hot Springs, twelve miles above Jemez pueblo. At present the chief feature of interest on this site is the ruin of a Spanish church, with its heavy walls and fortress-like tower. It has been con- structed of materials derived from the immediate vicinity. The tower and upper parts are of the impure friable limestones of the promon- tory against which the foundations are built. The lower end of the church and the walled enclosure extend down to the border of the arroyo, and the latter has been built of heterogeneous materials. The adobe mortar has been made from the debris of ancient house sites and is full of fragments of pottery, obsidian chips, and charcoal. . . .