Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-03-22
n. NJ. RELICS IN
MUSEUM IN EAST
DRAW ATTENTION
CuriOS of a Lost Race,
Found Near Aztec, On Ex-
hibition in New York; Ar
tiCIeS Untouched BY Time.
Especial Correspondence to The Journall

New York, March 21.-Tempo-
rarily displayed in the west corri-
dor of the American Museum or
Natural History, on the first floor,
can be seen some interesting relics
of a lost race-the prehistoric peo-
pie who built and lived in the great
community dwelling, now in ruins,
near Aztec, New Mexico, when MT.
Earl H. Morris has for the past
three years been exploring ana re-
storing for the American museum.
Mr., Norris has gathered a great
deal of material which will in time
be placed on permanent exhibition.
Rut the six shelves in the corridor
give an idea of the nature of the
objects which have been found and
of the customs to which they tes-
tify.
Here, outlasting their wearers by
centuries, are sandals woven or
yuvva leaf, yucca fibre and cotton,
and here the very pattern boards
over which the sandals were made.
Here, practically untouched by
time, are ornaments of shell cut
mo ulSCE, anu btdho VI tNi hN'ON"@N
and of shell. There are arrow
points of jasper, bone avis ana
needles, and fragments of painted
wood~-ceremonial boards, doubt
less,
The basketry is of two types
coiled and twilled-some of it in
an excellent state of preservation,
Then there are cylindrical netted
discs padded with corn husks.
These are a puzzle to the museum
Investigators. Some one advanced
the theory that they might nave
been used as snow shoes, but the
small size and unsuitable shape OF
some of the specimens seem to re-
flute that superstition. A wooden
cradle board with its curiously
nlaced head piece accounts for the
flattened skulls typical of all the
skeletons of this ancient clVlllza-
ton which have been recovered
A pillow of mating stuffed with
corn husks, and some human re-
mains wrapped in mating ana
showing the method of burial com
plete the miscellaneous portion or
the collection. The rest of the eX-
hibit Is given over to pottery The
specimens are of white, red ana
black, and include cooking ana
eating utensils, The designs-not
as advanced in conception as some
other of our antique southwestern
notterv, are however frequently
skillfully executed. For the most
part painted in black, or, less
often. in red, they are sometimes
clearly taken from textile designs,
sometimes made up of free-hand
curved lines such as would not
have been practicable in textiles
or. occasionally consist of crude
animal, representations. An inter-
esting broken mug shows hollow
bottom in which little pellets OF
clay had been placed so as to pro
duce a rattle. The cross markings
on the edges of the bowls and
drinking vessels are very charac-
teristic of the pottery taken from
this vicinity. Most interesting
among these relics is the coiled
pottery-made by rolling long
strips of clay and winding them
round and round in the desired
shape, as is done in coiled basketry
In the pottery of this sort the mark
of the shaping thumb can be plain
ly seen, and was frequently used to
produce q wave pattern often at
tanned to a very pleasing develop
ment.