The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1921-02-16
CLIFF DIV kLLEEC
OF NEW MEXICO
Result 81 Rccc~t Explorations al
PecOs

Europe was plunCiug through the ter
rors OF the middle ages ana along
about the time Attilla. the Hun. was
ravag1ng the civiliza Ion of Rome. an
othcr civilization of a different type
was In a fairy well perfected state in
western North America. The center
of this civilization as well as center
OF trade and commerce was Pccls.
New Mexico about twenty-five mi,es
east OF Santa Fc.
This was determined defui ely. ac-
cording 10 DR.. ~ V. Kiddcr. by ex-
cuvatiOns conducted Ivy himself and
assistants last summer. Dr. Kiddcr
was aided by Dr. r.. n. Hooton, u
specialist i'm physical anthropology
and Dr. Carl r.. Guthe. who had just
returned from his exploration among
che Mayos in Central America
The scientists opened more than
600 graves and examined some L.
GOO skeletons. Homes had been built
upon ruins OF previous habitations and
the bodies OF the dead buried in the
ruins had increased to sucH an cx-
tent that the Indians of Pecos. some
eighty years AGO. deserted their thou
sand year old city and moved to
Jemez because, the waters had be-
come contaminated.
Clim dwellings OF a thousand rooms.
well preserved specimens OF the past
civilization and unusual examples of
early day pottery and household
utensils were recovered. according TO
the report on the, excavations re-
Gently made public.
Castenada, the chroniclcr' OF Coro-
nado's explorations $50 years ago.
mentions but one Pucblo pccos.
obviously the north house. ENcavu-
tons last summer showed that there
had been a pueblo ut an carly Pc
riod. on the site OF the south house,
which Rad been abandoned and re-
ducCd To mere heap of ruins before
the coming OF tho Spaniards. In the
interior of tho mount there was un-
covered the ground floor chamber in
excellent preservation. Its roof was
almost intact; from the beams still
hung the bark loops that had been
used to suspend goods OF the owners
and on one smoke-blackencd log are
n series OF handprints. large and small
slapped on I'm white wash.
To cSplore tho extensive nor IA
house which originally must have
had more than a thousand rooms, and
wars OF which still stand alinosG
three stories high. trenches were
sta rtCd simultaneously at the east en-
trance and the west edge OF the mesa.
The wcs crn trench was run along
he'd rock and after passing through
DuriGls four feet deep, encountered
the 70 uidation walls OF an early
tuilding, the presence OF which had
not been suspected. This was cut
through and the trench struck
large oval pit which proved To he n
treasure house fifteen feet deep, ten
feet wide and twenty feet Ions. built
I'm natural Crevice i'm the mesa.
About It's edge was u neatly made
coping wall two feet high and IL re-
semblcd somewhat the ceuotes at Chi
chen liza and elsewhere i'm the Maya
field I'm Yucatan. The o!stcrn yielded
an unusually fun and unmixcd cullCc-
tiOn OF artifacts and pottery from the
earliest times TO the Paiaritan or
Fourth Glaze period. When the cs-
fern was cleared IL was Lridged over
and the trench was continued. An
othOr zone of skeletons was discover
eel and some of the hes. pottery thus
far found was taken from the graves.
In another trench ruins were en-
countered similar to those of the pre-
historic walls OF the palace of gov
crnors ar Santa Fc. built long before
the coming OF the Spaniards The
similarity was traced to the ruins up
On which the sanfa Fc structure had
been constructed and which had bCSu
built ny Ornate or his successor I'm
1908.
Other trenches revealed a large So
riCs OF cooking jars. painted cilas and
one ncst Of ceremonial pots wcdged
bccwccn rocks and yet quito undam-
aged. with these were many hand
EOlnc shell ornaments. two ses Of
bone flutes. two very large tobacco
pipes. one OF them nlaborately carved,
thlTty-six buffalo horns. part OF
wooden dance head dress and many
either specimens.
In one place wCTc found two UNDER
ground klvas or ceremonial chambers.
10th were built ia the earliest time,
about the beginning of the Christian
era. one of them later serving as u
burial place
nv careful observation Of the
stratihcd nllings an the lower part Of
thc rooms. coOrGlnatcd with an in
tcisiyc Atudy Of the successive in
ercTnCnts OF masonry that h0d gone
into their construction. Dr. GuihC had
becn able To work 1ut aud rccorl by
plans and clcv1;iors tl. "Ngct his
tory Of Tho growth of th,s section ot
The pueblo FROM tbr fuuUiu. ion cob On.
town, PERHAPS 1000 Ncar, ago duNu
to the time Of lts gDJndoumcut JbOHt
eighty Years aSO. Pccos apparently
~ the longest continuously inhabited
city of the American continent.
The Museum of New Mexico owns
the site cNCRvatcd.
"A A pROT cow