Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-07-19
NEW THEORIES
ABOUT ANGIENTS
ARRIVE YEARLY
Evidences of High Civilization
Found IN Relics of South
west Indians.
RESEARCH FASCINATES
By FREDERICK j. HAsKIN.

tue past Is no HeIe inquire U sPSOSH
down in the southwest, from which news
has recently reached the Smithsonian in
stitution here of two new and interest
ing archaeological finds, both of which
were literally dug up.
A temple of ancient fire worship, which
seems to indicate that the prehistoric in,
habitants Of the southwest reached
higher degree Of civilization than had
formerly been supposed, has been un-
earthed and studied in detail by DR.. j.
Walter Fewkes. chief of the bureau OF
American ethnology of the Smithsonian
institution.
And two skeletons, those Of boy and
Of a girl. have been found buried in the
ruins Of a stone house, probably of pre-
historic origin.
These remains have been shipped to the
national mesum here, where they Will
be carefully studied.
They may shed new light on the race
and physical character of the early in
habitants of the region.
This digging IN of the long buried
past seems a futile and perhaps an IN
interesting occupation to those who have
never followed or studied it, but as
matter of fact it has the highest sclen-
tlfc value and it exercises a peculiar
fascination.
Nearly every one who goes to the
southwest with the slightest bent Tor
scientific investigation falls under the
spell Of the country's romantic past, ana
develops something of a mania for hunt
ing the remains Of It
HERE Is WHERE
THE PAST LIVES.
The country is remarkably well adapt
ed to the indulgence Of this taste.
It is extremely dry-the greater part
OF it a desert-so that id the first place
bones. pottery and other ancient remains
tend TO be preserved, whereas in a more
moist country they would disintegrate-
In the second place, there is no heavy
growth Of vegetation to cover these traces
Of ancient human life.
1t Is a common occurrence when rid
ing across the mesa lands of this country
to come to a slight mound Of earth
dotted with bits Of broken pottery.
This, you may be sure. is the remains
Of an Indian dwelling abandoned long
ago. It may be only few hundred years
old, o. it may be q thousand or more.
II you dismount and dig about in the
ruins with 4 sharp stick, you viii bring
70 light more pottery and probably also
stone arrow heads and other flint ''arte-
facts" as the ethnologists call them
These bits Of a departed human era
VIII surrey 4uAAEA4E OAA ALA4ae A4AAAuu IL
you have any.
You can not refrain from trying to re-
construct in your mind the lives Of the
people who made and used these things.
OF course, the thorough exploration of
one Of these ancient ruins is great work,
and unless you are either wealthy or very
fond sf manual labor, you are atp to do
the reconstruction exclusively with your
Imagination instead of with a shovel and
pick, which is the really scientific way.
Then, too, If you do go in for the
heavy work Of excavation, the probable
ities are that you are only delving into
a habitation like those OF the present
Pueblo Indians, and not more than few
hundred years old. ..- 4
You may recover a few articles Of some
interest or vaIue-a perfect bit Of pot1
terry, perhaps. or some turquoise orna-
ments-but the very ancient ruins are
necessarily the rarest.
SCIENCE HAS
FASCINATION.
None the less. if you have once delved
into the past on your own account. you
can understand the keen fascination
which has kept the scientists busy for
years, reconstructng in their magma
lions the lives of these long dead PEG
pies, trying 10 make an hypothesis that
will Ht the facts.
IN doing this they have told themselves
and the public some beautiful fairy tales.
For example. when the numerous elf
dwellings" in Colorado and New Mexico
were discovered the scientists proceeded
to reconstruct 4 whole race Of clin
dweliers.
Solely because the doors Of these dwell
ings were very small so that n man Of
ordinary height had to get down on
his hands and knees to enter, they ad-
vanced the theory that the cliff jewellers
had been a race Of pygmies, who had
subsequently become extinct.
This charming idea became very pop
ular, was woven into fiction and is still
believed by many non-scientific persons.
Subsequent scientific investigation
completely exploded it. 1t showed that
the people who occupied the cliff dwell
ings were in all probability racially
identical with the Pueblo Indians who
now fnhabit the region and that they
built their habitations under and against
enemies who were pressing them hard,
and they made their dOorways small for
the same reason.
They entered on hands and knees Just
as the subsequent investigators did, and
afterward rolled powders into the open
ings to keep out intruders.
BaudeIier, one Of the greatest ethnolO-
gists and archaeologists that America
has produced. did most Of the work Of
refuting the Pygmy cliff dweller theory
and showing the racial identity of the
ancient with the present inhabitants OF
the southwest.
He wrote a remarkable novel. THE
Delight-Makers," depicting the life Of
these ancient Americans, which is per-
hans the only one OF the many romances
based on prehistoric America which has
any claim to scientific consideration.
NEW LIGHT
ON PROBLEM.
The theory advanced by Bandelier was
that all the sedentary Indians Of the
southwest from Colorado far down into
Mexico were OF the same racial stock and
had attained about the same degree OF
civilization (Or rather barbarIsm).
Thus the wonderful romance which
Prescott wrote in his Conquest of
Mexico was shown to be romance and
nothing more
II is probable that the Aztec culture
which COrtez Overcame was fundamen-
tally similar TO that of the Pueblo In
dams in New Mexico today, but founded
on a much greater population and some
what greater wealth.
The recent discovery Of DR.. Fewkes,
however, may make necessary yet another
revision OF our ideas Of the prehistoric
southwest
While It presumably does nothing to
refute the theory of the racial identity
oS the prehistoric and present inhabitants
Of the region, it would seem TO indicate
that the prehistoric Iniadns did have
somewhat higher civilization than those