Los Angeles herald., 1908-10-23
TREASURES ARE
CARRIED AWAY
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA DE-
PLETED OF RELICS
CURATOR OF MUSEUM MAKES
STARTLING STATEMENT
~,
Says Southwest, Rich in Archaeo-
logical Specimens, viii Soon Offer
No Inducement to Collectors
of Prehistoric Works

ain less than four decades 300 tons,
perhaps more, of archaeological treas
ures have been carried from Southern
California to musuems = of eastern
states and the continent" said Dr' +.
M. Palmer, curator of the southwest
museum, yesterday Southern Cail-
fornia, mainland and Islands, prac-
tically has been depleted of arcnaeo-
logical specimens. My deliberate JudS-
ment is no great discoveries will be
made in this territory in future. vi
course, occasional finds of importance
will occur, but they will be accidental
"The plateau region of the southwest,
with it's 10000 square miles IN por-
tions of Arizona, New Mexico, Colo
RADIO and Utah is unquestionably a
richer field for archaeological research
than any other part of America. From
that locality the Southwest museum
already possesses collections more val
liable scientifically than any other m
stitution. In it's records of the clltt
and pueblo dwellers it is unique. This
is especially true in it's illustrations OF
their textile arts. The museum has the
only collection in the world of pueblo
glazed pottery. Chemical analysis has
shown the work is a salt glaze.
Here is a single collection of NOR
tuary urns, not duplicated In other
museums. Many we possess have a
capacity of more than twenty gallons,
in which at time of interment was de-
posted a supply of food for the dead:
In one we found more than bushel
of pinon nuts; in another more than
bushel of corn, some shelled and
some on the ear. We have also evidence
of pumpkins, squashes, melons, beans
and other vegetable seeds not yet clas-
sified.
$50 Years Old
"It is impossible to determine ex-
actly the age Of these evidences Of the
cliff and pueblo dwellers. The mini
mum period that has elapsed since oc-
cupaficy of the dwellings, where we OBJ
tanned this exhibition has been set by
scientists at $50 years; otherst equally
as competent place the time at nearly
twice that many thousands. If the
corn and nuts had been placed there
In the year /, conditions could not have
been more ideal for their preservation.
They were sheltered back under the
sandstone cliff and buried in the camp
ashes so that no moisture and no bur-
rowing animals possibly could attack
them.
"This corn appears through the glass
of the case to have come possibly from
last years crop, but you can see, by
examining it closely the pith has
dropped out of the cob and the shelled
corn retains only it's outer part. l
tried some. of the most perfect to see
if it would germinate, but the germ
was evidently destroyed hundreds of
years ago, and none of it would
Sprout."
The Southwest museum is open from
Q to 4 o'clock, weekday afternoons. in
it's new room adjoining the public IL
brary on the sixth floor, at 800 West
Eighth street. The limited space does
not permit exhibition of more than a
small part of the museums collections.
and DR.. Palmer has chosen to give
prominence to the mission paintings
and exhibitions from the cliff dwellers
and pueblos, as the Southern California
and channel islands specimens were
most in evidence while the museum
was in the old quarters in the Pacific
Electric building. The Southern Calf
fornia collections will be arranged on
tables in the laboratory for classifica-
ton and cataloguing. The museum
has enough of these to fill AMI exhibit
ton hall, 100x50 feet, exclusivel of any
pledged" or now held in trust, such
as the Palmer collection at the cham
ber OF commerce.
officers of the Southwest. museum
are making vigorous effort to realize
it's plans for a permanent building on
Museum hill. at the head of Avenue
Forty-six, overlooking Sycamore grove.
They have already raised $4,000 for
the site and hope to secure the neces-
sary $4,000 remaining before the end
of this year. The Southwest society's
valuation of the collections and site
for the museum aggregates $125O97, of
which the collections have been esti-
mated conservatively as follows:
I1.Ixs No.. 0OrnA