Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-06-30
he middle Of the seventeenth century.

! the middle Of the seventeenth century.
Those that have been excavated come
| from the ruins of towns destroyed or
| deserted before the arrival of the Span
iards, and while the old faith was pub
| licly followed and the household gods,
as well as the images used in the gen.
eral public worship, were displayed
rather than concealed.
Usually the ruins in which they are
found show evidences Of destruction by
fire, and this may accoun for the de-
sertion being SO sudden that even the
household gods could not be carried
away. Charred wood, and half burned
cases vitrified masses caused by the in
tense heat of the fire. In one instance
one of these vitrifications shows plainly
the impression of an ear of corn which
was partially imbedded in it but has
since been destroyed.
The society has been fortunate enough
to obtain twenty of these rare objects
of worship thus intimately connected
with the history of the territory and
with the customs of the people in pre-
historic times. No other public institu-
ton in this country or Europe possesses
even one. So far as the society has been
able to ascertain, the total number that
have been found, besides those in the
large collection of DR.. Prince, and the
society's specimens, does not exceed
ten.
The largest idols owned by the society
are about twenty-one inches high.
While these do not approach in size
some of the great idols belonging to DR..
four feet in height and one measures
five feet five and ~one-quarter inches
yet they are the largest known to exist
outside of hat collection.
One idol in the Prince collection is of
a punice stone so light that it will float
in water.
Nineteen Of the twenty images in the
society's collection represent human
figures, and one an animal.
Eighteen of the human figures are of
the same general type; the other is of
different material, being a large oval
flat sandstone, with round edges, and
with eyes, nostrils and mouth to repre-
sent a human face at the upper end.
The eyes and nostrils are round cavities
and the mouth a straight ineision about
an inch and three-quarters long. The
whole crudely represents a human fig
ure, but has no neck or division between
the head and body, and no representa-
ton of arms or legs.
The eighteen other human figures all
have heads with eyes, nostrils and
mouths. Some have Well-defined necks.
Others simply have the heads smaller
than the bodies, the shoulders widening
out directly at the base of the head,
and others have scarcely any line of de-
marcation between the head and the
body.
In most of them the eyes M nostrils
are simply round holes punctured in the
stone, and the mouth is a long, deep
cavity below the nostrils. In others, the
mouth is represented by another circu-
lar cavity similar to those intended for
the eyes and nostrils, but larger and
deeper. Generally the holes represent
ing the nostrils are cut directly into the
stone, but in a few cases they have an
upward inclination.
Nearly all Of the society's idols have
arms and two have legs, in a form ex-
actly similar to the arms of what is
called the normal type The legs in
this form are almost in the exact posi-
ton of the legs Of the Pueblo Indians
who sit on the ground, and usually lean
back against the walls of their houses.
This form Of representing the legs
seems to have become conventionalized,
as they almost always appear in sub
stantially the same position.
In fact, there is but one known excep-
tion-that af a very large and perfect
idol in DR.. Princes collection. 42k
inches high, in which the legs appear
carved at full length and with consid-
cradle regard to proportion, the knees,
ETC., being well represented.