  We present an analysis of age, metal abundance, and positional data on
populous clusters in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) with the ultimate aim of
determining the line-of-sight (LOS) depth of the SMC using these clusters as
proxies. Our dataset contains 12 objects and is limited to clusters with the
highest quality data for which the ages and abundances are best known and can
be placed on an internally consistent scale. We have analyzed the variation of
the clusters' properties with position on the sky and with line-of-sight depth.
Based on this analysis, we draw the following conclusions. 1) The observational
data indicates that the eastern side of the SMC (facing the LMC) contains
younger and more metal-rich clusters as compared with the western side. This is
not a strong correlation because our dataset of clusters is necessarily
limited, but it is suggestive and warrants further study. 2) Depending on how
the reddening is computed to our clusters, we find a mean distance modulus that
ranges from (m-M)_0 = 18.71 +/- 0.06 to (m-M)_0 = 18.82 +/- 0.05. 3) The
intrinsic +/- 1-sigma line-of-sight depth of the SMC populous clusters in our
study is between ~6 kpc and ~12 kpc depending primarily on whether we adopt the
Burstein & Heiles reddenings or those from Schlegel et al. 4) Viewing the SMC
as a triaxial galaxy with the Declination, Right Ascension, and LOS depth as
the three axes, we find axial ratios of approximately 1:2:4. Taken together,
these conclusions largely agree with those of previous investigators and serve
to underscore the utility of populous star clusters as probes of the structure
of the Small Magellanic Cloud.
