“The village was very strong, because it was up on a rock out of reach, having steep sides in every direction, and so high that it was a very good musket that could throw a ball that high. There was only one entrance by a stairway built by hand, which began at the top of a slope which is around the foot of the rock. There was a broad stairway for about 200 steps, then a stretch of about 100 narrower steps, and at the top they had to go up about three times as high as a man by means of a hole in the rock, in which they put the points of their feet, holding on at the same time by their hands. There was a wall of large and small stones at the top, which they could roll down without showing themselves so that no army could possibly be strong enough to capture the village. On the top, they had room to sow and store a large amount of corn, and cisterns to collect snow and water.”
George Parker Winship, The Journey of Coronado, 1540-1542, 1904
The excerpt most directly describes architectural structures found in the
Chaco Canyon of New Mexico
Great Basin
Atlantic Seaboard
Pacific Northwest
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