Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-02-14
ANCIENT CIVILIZATION
IN WESTERN AMERICA
Sclant;sts' Excavations in New
Mexico Reveal Evidences ot
Race Before Indians.
Nv A..,~s.tcd Press TO Every Evening

Ry Associated Press to Every Evening.
Santa Fe. n. NJ, Feb. ll.-When
Furope was pllnging through the terrors
of the middle ages and along about the
,,m. Attilla. the Hun, was ravaging
,ba civilization of Rome, another civihza-
tion Of different type was In fairly
we'll perfected state in western North
America. The center of this civilization
as we'll as center of trade and commerce
WAS Pecos. New Mexico about twenty
fve miles east of Santa Fe.
This was determined definitely, accord
ing TO DR.. A. v kidder, by excavations
conducted by himself and assistants last
summer DIR. Kider was aided by DR.
T.. A. Hooton, q specialist In physical
anthnopology and DR.. Carl +. Guthe, who
had Just returned from his exploration
among the Mayos in Central America.
The scientists opened more than 800
graves and examined some 900 skeletons.
Homes had been built upon ruins OF pre-
vious habitations and the bodies Of the
dead buried in the ruins had Increased
TO such an extent that the Indians OF
Peoos. some eighty years ago. deserted
their Thousand year old CITY and moved to
Jemez because the waters had become
contaminated.
Cliff dwellingslof thousand rooms well
preserved specimens of the past clvillsa-
ton and unusual examples of early day
pottery and household utensils were re-
covered, according to the report on the
excavations recently made public.
Castenada. the chroncler Of Corouado's
explorations $50 years ago, mentions but
one pueblo at Pecos obviously the north
house. Excavations last summer showed
that there had been pueblo at an early
period, ON the site of the south house.
which had been abandoned and reduced
TO mere heap Of rIins before the coming
of the Spaniards. In the interior of the
mount there was uncovered one ground
floor chamber III excellent preservation
Its roof WAS almost intact from the beams
. still hung the bark loops that had been
used, TO supsend goods Of the owners and
on one smoke-blackened log are series OF
handprints, large and small, slapped on
in white wash.
To explore the extensive north house
which originally must have had more
than a thousand rooms and walls Of which
still stand almost three stories high
trenches We're started simultaneously
Al the east entrance and the west edge OF
the mesa The western trench was run
along bed rock and after passing through
ourlals four feet deep, encountered the
foundation walls of on early building,
The presence of which had not bcen slIs-
pected This was cut through and the
trench struck large oval PIT which proved
10 be a treasure house fifteen feet deep
en feet wide and twenty feet long, build
n s natural crevice in the mesa About
rs edge was a neatly made coping wall
wo feet high and it resembled somewhat
the cenotes al Chichen liza and elsewhere
in the Maya field in Yucatan. The cistern
Welded an unusually full and unmixed
objection OF artifacts and pottery from
he earliest times TO the Pajaritan or
Fourth Glaze period. when the cistern was
;leared il was bridged over and the trench
was continued. Another zone Of skeletons
was discovered and some OF the best
pottery thus far found WAS taken from
the graves.
In another trench ruins were encoun-
tered similar TO those of the prehistoric
walls Of the palace of governors at Santa
lie, built long before the coming of the
Spaniards The similarity was traced 10
The ruins upon which the Santa Fe
structure had been constructed and
which had been built by Ornate or his
successor in 1908.
Other trenches revealed a large series Of
cooking jars, painted oils and one next OF
ceremonial pots wedged between rocks and
Vet quite undamaged With these were
many handsome shell ornaments. two
sets OF bone flutes, two very large tobacco
pipes, one OF them elaboratelv carved
thirty-six buffalo horns, part of wooden
dance head dress and many other speci-
mems.
In one place were found two under
ground kIvas or ceremonial chambers
Both were built in the earliest time, about
the beginning Of the Christian era, one Of
them later serving as a burial place.
By careful observation Of the stratified
filings In the lower part Of the rooms, I
co-ordinated with an intensive study Of the
successive increments Of masonry that
had gone into their construction. DR.
Guthe had ben able 70 work out and
record by plans and elevations the exact
history Of the growth Of this section Of the
pueblo from the foundation of the town
Perhaps 1000 years ago down TO the time
nf It's abandonment about eighty wears