The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-06-07
Arc theological Finds I'm Arizona.

= The Smithsonian Institution will
soon publish q most interesting &C
of excavations recently made
near Winslow, Ariz., under it's aus
pices, the result of which was the
discovery of many things of archaeo-
logical Importance. DR.. ]. Walker
Fewkes had charge Of the digging,
which unearthed portions Of the ruins
of four ancient and ~long-buried cities.
The aboriginal inhabitants Of the re-
gion have traditions to the effect that
the towns in question were the dwell
ing-places Of remote ancestors of their
own, and the finds" made incidentally
to the seem to show tina
this belief is presumably correct. I'D
to a comparatively recent date the
walls OF the ruined buildings rose to a
considerable height, but the
in constructing the nearby Sunset City
now in ruins utilized the stones for
their houses.
One Of these buried cities. to which
the most careful study was given, was
evidently a pueblo Of great size, Of a
rectangular shape, and enclosing
plazas From this ancient ruin. now
represented only by a huge mound,
were taken several hundred beautiful
objects of prehistoric handiwork. They
"tlc ODldlHeu from the DcCTOpOlISs OF
burial place Of the pueblo, in the very
shadow of which the dead were inter-
red, not being carried away to any dis
lance. Almost every grave was indi-
Gated by a fiat stone slab, which lay
above a skeleton. Many of these stones
were perforated with round, oval, or
square holes. Some of the bodies
were extended at length, while others
had their knees drawn up to the
breast.
Many vases and pots were obtained
which bore strange designs, mostly
representing neurological birds and
beasts. Their significance, as illustrat-
ing the mythology of the people to
whom the pottery belonged, is as
certalnable to some extent from the
traditions still current among the liv-
ing aborigines. One design, wholly
unique, is painted on the bottom of a
bowl. On one side Of the rim is rep
resented the upper part of a man, and
below, in the interior Of the bowl, are
two footprints, as if the man had leap
ed into the receptacle. From these a
line Of footprints extends across the
bottom Of the bowl, ending at the
opposite rim, behind a figure of the
lower body and legs of a man crawl
ing out of the bow on the opposite
side.
On another piece Of pottery, a food
basin, is a figure Of a spider, repre-
senting the NEUROLOGICAL Spider Wo-
man.. She is an earth goddess, bride
Of the sun, and the mother Of the twin
war gods
The priests made elaborate prayer
sticks, some of which were several
feet long, and painted them with yell
low, green, blue, red, white, and black
pigments, the same as those used by
their descendants. They priced for
ceremonial purposes quartz crystals,
stone concretions, and fragments of
obsidian. They were acquainted with
bells made Of copper. They had rat
ties of sea shells, and wore fringes of
shells on the margins of their gar
ments. In ceremonials they made use
of stone slabs painted with animals.
The warriors were armed with bows
and arrows tipped with stone and OBJ
sidian points. They had clubs, stone
hammers, and axes. They made need
les, bodkins, and avis of bird-stones,
antelope tibiae, and ribs, which they
sometimes carved in imitation Of ami
mails. The women were adopts in the
manufacture Of earthenware vessels,
which they decorated with elaborate
figures in several colors. They were
familiar with the art of glazing pot
terry, and practised etching Of the
same to a very limited extent. They
buried their dead just beyond the out
er home walls, and deposited with
them various votive offerings, pottery, |
basketry, ceremonial and other para
phernalia, having first painted the
face and wrapped the body in mating.
The symbols on their pottery indicate
that they recognized the sun and spid- !
er as powerful deit;es. They worship
ped the rain, clouds, lightning, snake, !
tadpole. frog, and various mythiJ /
birds. They entertained an idea of a !
future life, and associated the dead
with rain gods.-Washington Core |
spondence st. Louis GlObe-Democrat.
GonanIornA XLnInnn i