23 PARTIAL ROOF. This large room contains a good example of Salado roofing technique. Walls of stone and mud were built in courses about 2 feet high each, until they reached 6 feet in height. A central upright post was then placed to hold a main roof beam. The smaller roof poles rested on the main beam, and above them went a layer of reeds, saguaro ribs, grass or other small poles. On top of these layers went a thick mud coat, deep enough to allow a shallow firepit to be safely built in the upstairs floor.

Hallway with partial mud-capped roof.

24 HALLWAY. The village was not built all at once. Construction at different times is revealed in sealed doorways, wall abutments, and hallways. This passageway gave access to three rows of ground floor rooms; it probably also served as additional storage space.

Interior roofing and hatchway to room above.

Stone-lined hatchway.

25 ORIGINAL ROOM. Look inside and imagine how dark and stuffy these rooms were. Often ground-floor rooms in the back of the cave—dark and poorly ventilated—were used just for storage. Ladders gave access to different floor levels in the village, sometimes through corner hatchways like the one in this room.

26 ROOM USES. During excavation of this village, an infant burial was found in the corner of this room. The death rate among infants was high, and burying babies in the corners of houses was the custom among Pueblo Indians until quite recent times. Adults were usually buried in the loose rock slope in front of the village or in abandoned rooms. Terraces in front of some cliff dwellings served as burial grounds, but no terrace or cemetery has been found here.

Connecting rooms in two-story section of ruin; burial was found in right-hand corner of farthest room.

Although these rooms are small by our standards, there was no need among the Salado for larger spaces; actually the Salado houses are remarkably large in comparison to most cliff dwellings. Since the climate is mild here, most of the Indians’ time was spent on the roofs and outdoors. Houses served mainly for sleeping, storage, cooking, and winter shelter. Salado furniture was minimal: a few pottery vessels, baskets, spare tools, a metate and firepit, mats for sleeping and sitting, perhaps a ladder to an upstairs room. Looms for weaving their elaborate cotton textiles were apparently outdoors, as no trace of them was found in the rooms.

Elaborate woven cotton shirt recovered from Tonto Ruin—fine example of Salado weaving.
Photo courtesy of Arizona State Museum

Shells