Omaha daily bee., 1911-05-07
AMONG RUINS ON MESA YERDA
Report on Researches Under Auspices
of Smithsonian Institution.
DAMAGE cARELEssLY WROUGHT
the sctCntist--samc Conclusions
rs 60 Age aud Causes of
Abandonment.

tute, at the request o; the secretary OF the
interior. TO continue the excavation and
repair of ruins in the Mesa Verda Ma
tional park Colorado, has written an ex-
haustivc report Of tho wo.k done at cuff
palace. and the conclusions he has reached
a result OF his Tesea' ches. This report
soon will be published 5y the Bureau of
American Ethnolosy of the smithsonian
institution. with many Illustrations
Dr. Fewkes was able to repair com
pletely this great ruin and TO leave 1t in
such condition that travellers and students
visiting it may learn much more about
cliff dwellings than was possible before
the WORK was undertaken. Dr. Fewkes
was engaged in the task for four months
with force Of about fifteen workmen from
Mancos, Colo. As many of these laborers
had worked on Spruce Tree house previ-
ously and had become expert in repairing
ruins, it was possible to accomplish more
and at less expense than was expected.
While brief report on the general re-
suits accomplished at cuff palace has been
published by the secretary of the interior
DR.. Fewke's account considers in more
detailed way the various scientific phases.
There is also included a description of the
few minor antiquities brought to light in
the progress of the work. These speci-
mems are now in the United States Ma
tional museum, where they form the nu-
cleus Of a collection Il ON Cliff palace.
DR.. Fewkes deplores the vandalism, before
the Mesa Verde National park was estab-
lished, which made it impossible to secure
more complete collection.
Wrecked By Pot Hunters.
mo ruin in the Mesa Verde park" he
writes, has suffered more from the raw
ages Of pot hunters than Cliff palace; in
deed, it had been much more mutlated
than the other ruins in the park Parties
of workmen had remained at the ruin all
winter. and many specimens had been
taken from it and sold. There was good
evidence that the workmea had wrenched
beams from the roofs and floors to use
for firewood, so that not a single room
and but few rafters remained in place
However, no doubt many of the beams
had been removed, possibly by cliff dwell
ers, long before white men first visited
the place.
Many of the walls had been broken
down and their foundations undermined,
leaving great rents through them to let in
light or to allow passage from the debris
thrown in the rooms as dumping places.
Hardly a floor had not been dug into end
some Of the finest walls had been demol-
ished. All this was due to obtain pottery
and other minor antiquities that had a
market value. The arrest of this van
dalism is fortunate and shows an awak-
ened public sentiment, but it cannot repair
the irreparable harm that has been done.
From the nature of the work at Cliff
palace very few specimens can be expected
from 1t In the future, and so far as tho
minor antiquities are concerned the Oh
jective material from this ruin is now al,
deposited in public museums or private
collections. Additional specimens. how
ever, can be obtained from other ruins
near 1t, which will throw light on the Gull
ture of Cliff Palace
1T is appropriate, therefore. TO min.
out that a continuation of archaeological
work in the Mesa Verde National park is
desirable, as it will add to our know..dre
of the character of prehistoric life in these
canyons
What May He Found,
THE next work to be undertaken should
be the excavation and repair of a Mesa
Verda pueblo. The extensive mounds of
stone and earth on the promontory west
OF Cliff palace have not been excavated
and offer attractive possibilities for study
as promise of many specimens. Buried in
these mounds there are undoubtedly many
rooms, secular and ceremonial, which
seasons work could uncover, thus enlarg-
ing our knowledge of the cliff jewellers and
their descendants
The population OF Cliff palace" DR..
Fewkes concludes. was composed OF
many clans, more or less distinct and
independent, which were rapidly being
amalgamated by marriage; so we may
regard the population as progressing to-
ward a homogeneous community Cliff
palace was practically a pueblo built in
a cave; its population grew from both
without and within: new clans from time
to time Joined these existing, while new
births continually augmented the number
Of inhabitants.
Nothing was found to indicate that
Cliff palace was inhabited during the his
toic period The inhabitants were not
acquainted with metals brought by white
men to the southwest The absence OF
glass and of glazed pottery is significant.
No sheep, horses or other beasts of bur
den paid them tribute. In fact, there is
no evidence that they had ever heard of
white men. These ruins belong TO the
stone age in America and show no evidence
Of white mans culture.
Age of the Ruins.
Except that it is prehistoric, the period
at which Cliff palace was inhabited is
therefore largely a matter for archeolog-
zeal investigation TO determine, and thus
far no decisive evidence bearing on that
point has been produced. 1t has been held
that Cliff palace is 800 years old and some
writers have added five centuries 10 this
guess; but the nature OF the evidence on
which this extreme antiquity is ascribed
to the ruin is not warranted by the evil
dence available.
mo additional information was obtained
bearing on current theories of the causes
that led the ancient occupants OF the Mesa
Verda cliff-dwellings to adopt this inhos-
pitable and inconvenient habitat II is
probable that one and the same cause led
to the abandonment of Spruee-Tree house,
cliff palace, and other Mesa Verda cliff
houses. The inhabitants Of these build.
ings struggled TO gain a livelihood against
their unfavorable environment until a too
exacting nature finally overcame them.