The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-08-06


turtles after they have been filed with sand anc
vegetation. by means OF ANAL black pebbles
| placed along he nner banks by the inhabitants
in the belief. held by the Xunis now. that theI
assist the motion OF the currents. due to mis-.
| taken Idea Of cause and effect. suggested by
the sight Of stones rolling In running brooks.
The explorations OF Prof. Adolphus f. Band
! elcr and Mr. Bottume show clearly that these
| prehistoric towns extended along the sides Of
| the main canal for great distance. in proper
| ton to their width. and were situated on the
outer edge OF the cultivated tract. which in
cludcd all the intervening land to che river
The towns all consisted Of enormous central
| citadel or temple buildings within clusters oil
| dwellings, in walled Enclosures. which in turn
| were surrounded by the matched huts OF the
| laborcrs Stone and sun dried bricks were
| used as building material, and the main earthen
| walls were formed within q framework OF
| timber and waited cane: thus their archi-
lecture was derived. like their pottery. from
| original basket types. The best pre-
served walls show that the houses were
| In large communal blocks. 300 or 400 feet Ions
by 200 feet widc and possibly larger. built
three or four stories high OF adobe bricks with
out adnxture OF straw. They were situated
near the canal or its branches were sometimes
provided with special reservoir. and in all
cases had one or more pits or ovens for cook
ing purposes. The walls were probably pro-
tected from climatic influences by cement Of
| some kind. The citadel structures are thought.
from the thickness OF the walls and the amount
OF debris. to have been six or seven stories
high. and to have been used in times Of war as
place of refuge. In each city was also an
other large public cdihce. oval in FORM forty or
nifty feot in diameter and conjectured to have
been temple ~ the sun.
l..N. tt.,I
tcmporaneously. but succession Of earth
nunkcs or other phenomena probably led to
wholesale m gratons. in which the houses and
all they contained were deserted without
seeming preparation. From the posture in
which skeletons are found and from the fact
that the walls Of the buildings opened outward
in falling. and that household utensils are dis
covered, il is supposed that an earthquake led
to the abandonment OF the towns.
The relics taken from the eXhumed houses
citadels and tombs by the explorers include
pottery. stone implements. turquoises and
other stones held in esteem. shells and shell
ornaments. and human and animal remains
Many rock inscriptions have been found on the
rocks throughout central Arizona. They are
purely OF religious significance. showing
characteristic attitudes OF the people at certain
festivals and sacrifices. and disclosing nothing
OF narrative or historic nature. They give no
idea OF the ordinary manner OF dress or Of the
textile fabric employed but show the presty
gown TO nave been long rohe richy en-
proiuereo' low fragments OF COTTON clotn
nave peen lohhd preserved from decay ana
also several specimens OF OhsKetry inc
American Museum OF Natural History In New
YORK mas the finest collection OF pottery vet
gathered IN these buried communities. The
pottery IS largely obtained in ryral mounds
ana graves. AS many as Zoo urns nave be"n
found IN single mound The designs are
stlil IN use among a Few OF the more secluded
Indian tribes IN the southwest.
Inc stone axes and other implements are
particularly nice In detail and finish Some OF
the implements show degree OF ingenuity not
found among any tribe in the Territories
nowadays Many articles OF personal adorn-
meht snow that the mysterious race was en-
terlng that transition period which borders on
'he metailc ana the Stone age. Most o! these
ar''cIes arc sheIls ld"ntifled as coming from
inc Gun OF Mexico. some are OF metal. Skill
iul'y ih'ain articles were made by these people
py ilrSt coating smell with black cement,
o"'a'hcd from inc gum deposited by insects on
Grrase"ood '"lgs on the desert. ana then I'M
h"Ndlng mosaic fragments OF turquoise and
shc's IN th' MARK mus formed. After the
surface had been rubbed down smooth 1t made
an ornament Oh merit. Inc same gum from
er"aSew"od tw'es was made lacquerlng prep
ara''oh 'or preserving the color OF basketry,
Representations are found in the rock in
scriptions and in terracotta images Of an anI-
ima that was undoubtedly used "a n beast Of
burden. This beast resemblcd the llama of
South America. Spanish writer's at the time OF
the conqunsts by Cortez and Pizarro speak OF
the cxstence OF woollen cloth among Pueblo
Indians. and as nothing has been disclosed in
dcnting contact with the whites it is presumed
that these pror" had domestcated the llama
II this is so i csta hlishes connection between
thcs" people in Arizona and the Pcruyians 1t
also proves that either these prehistoric Ari-
IONA people were Of great antiquity or else
there existed an animal OF the llama species in
North America much later than is supposed by
natural historians.
The twenty-sovcn skeletons that the Bot
tune expedition secured and the hundreds of
others that curio dealers and museum men
have dug up show that the people were small
in stature and that their skulls we're brachy-
ccphalous tor broader across than engthwiseJ !,
like those Of the Zuhis. Aztecs and Peruvians
Some Of the skulls have little extra bone In
the back part OF the head peculiarity OF the