The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-11-27
Towers
ARE CLASSIFIED

WASHINGTON. Nov. 2I-To meet
the demand for information regarding
prehistoric ruins in the neighborhood
OF the Mesa Verde National park, the
bureau Of American ethnology Of the
Smithsonian Institution has just issued
a bulletin on the prehistoric Villages,
Castles and Towers OF Southwestern
Colorado by DR.. J. Walter Fewkes,
chief OF the bureau.
The Mesa Verde National park was
created for the preservation OF its
wonderful prehistoric cliff houses and
the bureau Of American ethnology in
cooperation with the department has
done much by the excavation and re-
pair of these monuments to increase
their educational Importance. The hu-
redu, IN order to make known h n
ture-o that work, is publishing bulle-
uns from time TO time on these monu>
ments n their builders.
Most Of the buildings described in
this pamphlet have long been known
To cowboys n sheep men. mt many
nave been described by psychologists,
but this knowledge is local or scattered
m many publications often inaccessible
TO the general public. 1t is the pur-
pose OF the bulletin to collect this in
formation in one publication and to
show the relation Of towers, castles and
other remains of the great cliff build
ings OF the Mesa Verde National park.
Ihe three questions usually asked by
visitors to the cliff houses OF our
Southwest are: Who were the builders,
when did they live and what became
of them, A fourth question, were they
pigmlesH Is easy to answer, for there
are many known mummies OF the cliff
jewellers Of the Mesa Verde in our
museums and while they show that the
cliff jewellers were a small people they
were not pygmies. The widespread be-
lief that they were pygmies very
naturally arose from the small size of
the doorWays and rooms of cliff dwell
1ngs, but small rooms are not sufficient
evidence of a diminutive size of their
inhabitants. The origin, antiquity and
fate OF the ancient people of the Mesa
Verde are the subjects of scientific in
N~estigation and no archeologist can yet
give a decided opinion regarding them.
Evidence bearing on these questions
ts, however, yearly accommodating, and
the bulletin above mentioned furnishes
important data.
As historical documents are silent re-
garding the people who constructed
these buildings, the student Is obliged
to gather what information he can from
the buildings and the household and
other implements buried in the rooms
or graves or from the physical char
acters as shown by mummles or skele-
tons.
This bulletin treats especially OF
architecture and points out hat we
have in buildings an index of social
organization. The characteristics of an
individual may be Judged from the style
Of his dwelling, and those OF a race by
/ tAnt- n r.-4, 100 -
neonIe No lose than Tho ahilitv ~ an.
Gent workers may thus he shown Inv
the relative nerfectton Of their hahita.
tions 4 comnarison ~ different tvnes
built nv me same neopie telIs The story
m the evolution ~ tho conniev frnn,
simnIe tvnes u N"0' 00''p'N nun
Tha tower tvne of ruip ,s ono nj
the moet nict,treeo,,e farme ~ nrebis.
toric huiIdinps 81 our Southwest W,
find them in many forms and sitna,
tons, in caves ON ton Of ninnacles Of
I'm valleys shut I'm nv cliffs Thev ma,
kha c]ircuIar sonar ~ eapicirc,lar iso.
lated or rising from hasaI rooms ont
Or MANY ,torIee biph Hoverveen cas-
lie tbe hest--nreserved building mon
tioned In the renort calls vividIv n
mind snnoo anoiant castIe ~ NJ ediava
Eurone II ia mora than az feet high
ana from ono noint Of view shows n,
Torn, II had nrhnn hum as the Ok,
Prehistoric bpiIdings uado of hug,
stones called mepaB1bs in the reeiol
considered were descrihed mora thaI
AZ vaara aso II is shown IN this hIl
ietin that before the nrehistoric inhab
itants Of the region constructed buIld
inps with horizontai masonry in who
individna1 stones we're la~boTiouslv MI
led thev built Structures Of huye stone
set on edge some of which still stan,
IN line AZ high as one's head. Thes