34;Walter Fewkes on the work of excavating and repairing the ruins of fir cliffs in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. This has been undertaken, under your instructions, under the direction of the Home Secretary, and a summary of the general results achieved has been published in the latter's annual report for the years 1907-1908.
VIII ILLUSTRATIONS
ANTIQUITIES OF THE MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
SPRUCE-TREE HOUSE
RECENT HISTORY
IX, is that no preconceived design was followed in the construction of the buildings. Through two loops on the outside of the wall, made of lamps inserted in the pieces between the stones.
GENERAL FEATURES
The rooms in the southern part are less numerous, although in some respects more instructive. The largest square in the series, with rooms at the back, the front of which is enclosed.
FBWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 11
The floor of the kiva is usually plastered, but in some cases it is solid stone. The beams (L-1 to L-4) are supported by six plinths (C) that stand on banquettes (A) and are then supported by the outer wall (B) of the kiva.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 21
The top of the opening in the west wall is covered with a flat stone in one of the photographic views. The walls of this kiva were poorly preserved and only two plinths were in place.
CIRCULAR ROOMS OTHER THAN KIVAS
Kiva G lies just below and in front of the round tower of Spruce-tree House, which is located in the neighborhood of the main court. A bench extends around three sides of the room, the fourth side being the perpendicular wall of the cliff.
MORTUARY ROOM
While the circular subterranean spaces mentioned above are believed to be the most common ritual halls, there are others in the cliff dwellings that Avere undoubtedly used for similar purposes. We don't really need them because in this room the top of the cave serves as the roof.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 25 Although it is difficult to enter some of these houses, members of the
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 25 Although some of these houses are difficult to enter, members. Considering the fact that most of the specimens previously extracted from this ruin were scattered in all directions and are now in many hands, it is. Given the nature of the author's excavations and method of collection, little hope remains that additional speci-.
The author has seen a beautiful bird mosaic with inlaid turquoise from one of the ruins at Cortez in the Montezuma Valley. The lack of a cultural connection in this direction speaks in favor of the theory that the ancestors of the Mesa Verde people did not come from the Southwest or the West, where shells are so abundant. As yet the amount of material available does not even warrant a comparison of the ruins of this mesa, but there is a good beginning to a collection of Spruce-tree House.
FBWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 29
41 subsequently restored by the owners (fig. 2); holes are drilled near the fracture line and the two parts are tied together; even the yucca strands still remain in the holes and shift where fragments are united. Classified according to structure, the pottery found in the Spruce-tree House ruin falls into two groups, coiled ware and smooth ware, the latter either with or without decoration. One of the cups found in this ruin has a T-shaped hole in its handle (fig.5), which in this particular memory of a cup written in 1895 by the author of Awatobi, a Hopi ruin , was collected.
The finest specimen of the canteen found at Spruce-tree House is shown here in plate 20. FBWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PAEK 31no complete specimen has been found, many fragments have been collected,.
FBWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PAEK 31 no complete specimen was found, many fragments were collected,
Zuiii, practically identical in character with the other ancient pueblos of the Little Colorado and its tributaries. With the exception of the terrace, the triangle (fig. 9) is perhaps the most common geometric decoration on Smrekova husa ceramics. Most of the triangles can be the basis of terraced figures, because the incisions on the longer sides of these triangles produce sinistral or right-stepped figures (as the case may be).
The outer end of the spiral may terminate in a triangle or other shape which may be notched, serrated or otherwise modified. The compound dextral volute is exactly the reverse of the latter, beginning as the dextral andingas sinistral. The color of the two-step figures may be black, or one or both may have secondary ornamentation in the form of hachure or network.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 35 Using color and symbolism of pottery as a basis of classification,
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 35 The use of ceramic color and symbolism as a basis for classification,. There is great similarity between Chelly Canyon pottery and that of Mesa Verde, but only the remotest connection between true Hopi ware and that of Clielly Canyon. As much as the Hopi w^are sharing their symbolism with other geographical areas of the eastern region, they are equally related in culture.
The subceramic area where the Mesa Verde ruins are located includes the valleys of the San Juan and its tributaries, Chelly Canyon, Chaco Canyon, and probably the ruins along the Rio Grande, on both sides of the river. Whether or not the Chaco or Mesa Verde region is the geographic center of this subregion cannot be determined, but the indications are that Mesa Verde is at its northern limit. Although the decoration on pottery from the Spruce-tree House embraces symbols in common with the ruins along the Little Colorado, including prehistoric Zuili, there is evidence of a conflation of the two ceramic tj'pes, which are believed to have originated in the Gila Basin.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PAKK 37
Its influence is also strong in the ruins of the White Mountain and on the Tiilarosa, and around the sources of the GiLa and Sah rivers. An examination of the decoration of pottery from Spruce-tree House does not reveal any specimen with the well-known broken surrounding line called 'the life-line'. Since this feature is missing from the pottery of all Mesa Verde ruins, it can be tentatively said that the ancient potters of this region were unknown. However, this apparently insignificant feature is present in all pottery directly influenced by the culture of the southwestern subceramic area.
It occurs in pottery from the Gila and Salt River ruins, in the Hopi area, and along the Little Colorado, including the Zuiii Valley, and elsewhere. Until recorded from the northeastern subceramic area, the "life line" may be considered a peculiarity of pottery in the Gila subarea or of ceramic influence. The triangular arrangement of designs on the inner surface of food bowls is not uncommon in Mesa Verde potter}^.
STOXE IMPLEMENTS
The outer surfaces of manj^ food bowls are elaborately decorated with designs as shown, while the rims of most boxes are dotted.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 39
The significance of this connection may be even greater than one would first suppose, for according to legend the Snake family, who are the keepers of the fetishes used in the snake ceremonies, originally lived in Tokonabi, near Navaho Mountain, at . The culture of the ancient inhabitants of the ruins of this place was not very different from the people of Mesa Verde. Both pestles and hand stones used for grinding corn were excavated, the latter in considerable numbers.
In some places, ridges or grooves on the surface of the rocks show where the grinding wheels were used. These grinding places are found in the squares, on the sides of the cave behind the village and elsewhere. Handstones are of several types: (1) polygonal, with slightly worn corners, but fixed on both sides, and with grooves on opposite edges to provide a firm grip for the hand; (2) convex ono.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 41
BASKETRY
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 43
Among various Avooden objects found at Spruce-tree House are sticks resembling prayer offerings and others which may have been used in ceremonies (Fig. 18.). The Ucca plant, which grows wild in the canyons and flats of the Mesa Verde, provides a tough fiber that the re-historic people of the Spruce-tree House used to make various fabrics. One of the most beautiful specimens of woven fabric 3 obtained in Mesa Verderuins was taken from room 11; this is apparently a headband for carrying bundles.
Fragments of cloth made from yucca fibers (fig. 25) into which feathers are woven are abundant in the rubbish heaps of the Spruce-tree House. Several sandals were excavated at Spruce-tree House, most from the rubbish heap at the rear of the dwellings. KEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OP MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 49 Most of the needles, bodkins, and awls are made from the bones of birds.
KEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OP MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 49 Most of the needles, bodkins, and awls are made of bones of birds
All signs point to maize or Indian corn as the main food plant of the prehistoric people of this cliff dwelling. As in the case of modern pueblos, the corn appears to have been multi-colored, while the size of the cobs indicates that the ears were small with few types of seeds. In addition to cobs, fragments of corn stalks, leaves and even tassels were found in some rooms.
From the discovery of a small wooden circle in one of the rooms it appears to have been the prehistoric people of the Fir House.
FEWKES] ANTIQUITIES OF MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 51
As appears to be true of the other rock inscriptions just mentioned, some of those near the Spruce-tree House are religious symbols, some are totems, while others are mere scribbles. The walls of some of the rooms in the Mesa Verde cliff dwellings still show figures painted while the rooms were occupied. In some cases, as with the upper part of the wall painted white and the lower part red, the contrast brings out the colors very effectively.
This figure is black in outline; j^art of the surface bears an angular whorl similar to decorations on some pieces of pottery. Similar designs, arranged in series according to Mindeleff's figures, form the decorative band of one of the kivas in the Chelly canyon. The meaning of this figure is unknown, but its widespread distribution, especially in that region of the Southwest which is characterized by.
CONCLUSIONS
The purpose of this painting is not clear to the author, but similar figures, reversed, indicate rain clouds. Although Ave know little about the culture of the prehistoric inhabitants of Mesa Verde, it does not follow that we cannot find out more. The pressure from outside tribes, or Avhat may be called human environment, probably originally had much to do with the selection of caves for homes, and the magnificent caves of the Mesa Verde naturally attracted men as favorable places for their homes.
INDEX
56 INDEX
GROUND PLAN OF SPRUCE-TREE HOUSE
THE RUIN, FROM THE NORTHWEST AND THE WEST
THE RUIN, FROM THE SOUTH END
THE RUIN, FROM THE SOUTH
THE RUIN, FROM THE NORTH END
NORTH END OF THE RUIN, SHOWING MASONRY PILLAR
A ROOF AND A STREET
THE RUIN FROM THE SOUTH END, SHOWING ROOMS AND PLAZA
CENTRAL PART OF RUIN, AND KIVA
DECORATED VASE AND MUGS
DECORATED BOWL AND CANTEEN
STONE IMPLEMENTS