The evening times., 1900-02-06
ANTIQUE CLIFF-DWELLERs.
Many New Discoveries Made by Prof.
Hewitt.

SANTA FE. y. NJ, Feb. 6.-Prof.
/ Hewett, whose discoveries in the cliif and
cave dwellings near Santa Fe have already
been briefly outlined found in the older
! cliff dwellings ornaments of ivory rudely
carved which were made from live ivory,
and not fossil ivory, and this seems to be
proof that the cliff-dwellers were contem-
+ pOraneous with the mastodon and other
mammals. from which alone they could
have derived ivory.
On the walls of the cliff dwellings. too.
by the Pueblo Indians who sought the
caves as a refuge in the time of the Span
ish invasion. were found rude carvings in
the rock a number OF which Prof Hewitt
photographed, and which seem to be
stories of historic incidents and show
pictures of such prehistoric animals as
those Of which remains were found in the
Tesuque Valley and at San Ildefonso only
this winter, and include the mastodon.
Connecting two villages was discovered
a path in sandstone on top of the volcanic
tufa which at several places had been
worn hip deep-a process which must have
taken thousands of years. The cave
dwellings near Santa Fe if stretched out
in line would extend sixty miles, and
must have given A habitation to hundreds
OF thousands of people.
On the mesas above the cliff dwellings
are ruins Of community houses, which con-
tanned from fifteen hundred TO two thou
sand rooms each, and in which Prof.
Hewitt found fragments of very ancient
pottery. and also Of a later origin, which
showed that they were also reoccupied by
the Pueblos, which reoccupation gave
credence 10 the belief until lately generally
accepted by scientists that the cliff dwell
ings are only from three hundred 10 four
hundred years old. and were built by the
Pueblo Indians as refuge against the
Spaniards.
Some of the latter caves probably were
but the vast majority of them seem to date
back TO the tertiary period, and here near
Santa Fe scientists will probably find con-
elusive proof that man existed even before
the quaternary period, now generally ac-
cepted as the time of the first appearance
of man.
The question of how these vast multi
tudes of cliff dwellers found sustenanee in
these arid regions is answered by the fact
that iIi the tertiary period the upper Rio
Grande Valley was a vast lake, into which
running streams moved from ali QlrectlODS,
over fertile areas, the dry river beds still
Finally the lake broke through dam of
volcanic tufa twenty-six miles thick, and
formed the Rio Grande River. The large
amount of charred corn found in the cave |
dwellings thus far explored shows that it |
is one of the staple products. 1t is of pc |
culisr shape, and different from the Mexi- |
can corn of today. Skeletons found in the /
cliff dwellings by the Rev. G. S. Madden. |
show that the original dweiiers in the cliffs |
were not Pueblo Indians, but of gigantic |
stature
Prof. Hewitt found five varieties of cliff
dwellings,, each an Improvement upon the
ormer, the Oldest being dug in the. perpen-
iicular walls of the volcanic tufa, while the
more recent have outbuildings and are
1uilt on ledges. Mr.. Hewitt will continue
his explorations in the cliff dwellings this
and will then give the results of
lis discoveries TO the world in book form.
1e has the fossil remains of prehistoric |
nimals found in the same region.