The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1923-04-14
AMERICA HAS IT'S
OWN TUT'S TOMB
RUNS of Apartment House in
New Mexico Disclose Indian
Life of I 900 Years Ago.

Life Of 600 Years Ago.
Chicag0.zAmerica. as well as far.
away Egypt has its Tutankhamen's
tomb. r.
This ruin, which If not so spectacular
or romantic as the discoveries recent
ly made in the East by Howard Car
ter and Lord .Carnarvon, has an equal
ly great historical importance in fur
nishing relics Of an ancient people and
giving tangible proofs Of their civiliza-
ton. :.
On the right bank of the Rio de las
Animas Perditas-the River of Lost
Souls-in New Mexico, is heaped the
ruin Of prehistoric apartment house,
the communal dwelling of an un-
named Indian tribe, probably the direct
ancestors Of the Hopi Indians of the
present day. Excavation of this ruin
for years has formed the most extern
sive scientific undertaking of its kind
in the country. As yet 1t has only
been partially explored and scientists
hope that further examination will re-
veal the history Of the West as 1t
was more than ten centuries ago.
Name ls Misnomer.
Its name, Aztec, given by early ex-
plorers who thought the ruin relic
of the Aztecs Of Mexico, is mis-
homer. The people which it designates
are a vanished race, and though their
name Is unknown, anthropOlogists are
confident that they represented the
flower Of prehistoric Indian culture.
According to DR.. r. Linton, assistant
curator of the anthropological depart
ment of the Field museum, these In
dams, living in the United States 1000
years ago, were even then heirs to q
culture 5000 years old. .. .
Doctor Linton, who has worked in
Aztec ruin, gives the following descrip-
ton:
The pueblo Is rectangular, with q
court and kivas Underground cere-
monial rooms) in the inner quadrangle.
The outside walls made, from quar-
ried stone, were perhaps four stories
| high and from three to six feet thick.
Carefully cut timber formed the cell
ings, some Of which are still in ex-
cellent condition. Although openings
in the upper stories were plentiful,
the ground floor rooms had none be-
cause of the fear of an enemy. Yucca
leaf ladders furnished access to the
higher stories, and when these were
withdrawn the tribal home became
impregnable to outside attack.
Grouped for Safety.
1T was probably this fear Of a cona-
mon enemy that drew the prehistoric
pueblo jewellers together and forced
! them to live In community, rather
than as separate families. Apparently
their homes were built and occupied
in common and their irrigation system
and agricultural activities common en-
terprises.
Their government evidently was
semi-republican. We have nothing to
show that any North American Indians
| ever developed a monarchistic form
| Of government. In this they differ
greatly from the Egyptians and other
ancient peoples. The tombs which
have given us SO much Of our knowl-
edge Of ancient Egypt are the sepul-
cheers Of kings built by slaves; while
the pueblos were constructed by peo-
pie drawn together through common
need for protection"
Differ From Egypt's Relics.
Doctor Linton pointed out the DIFF
ference In the quality Of the treasures
| which Investigators are finding In the
| ruins Of the American aborigines and
In the tombs Of old Dgypt's Pharaohs.
Those found at Luxor include many
precious stones and metals. Seashell
necklaces, calcite and quartz fashioned
into beads, turquoise beads and little
| frog efigies, carved gypsum and lime
| stone, beaver tooth pendants and gil
/ sonite earrings form the only spoils
discovered in the debris-filled Indian
ruins. = ~=5 Is
Discovery In Egypt Of preserved
foodstufrs which even after centuries
are still edible IL paralleled by the
prehistoric corn fodder. taken from
| the Indian ruins, from which 1922
mule made satisfactory meal.
The great heap Of corn husks was
quite soft and much Of the fodder as
| green as II it had been placed there
only few days before. The dry air
Of New Mexico has served the same
purpose as the elaborate embalming
agents employed by the ingenious
Egyptians.
! Had No Metal.
Again, unlike the people Of Egypt,
the Indian had no metal. A small cop
per bell, supposed to have been traded
/ In from the Mexico tribe. Is the sole
4 piece Of metal found In the Indian
i haDitations. All Of their tools were OF
/ wood, bone or stone. No skeletons Of
beasts OF burden have been found. Con-
sidering the fact that the stone quar-.
i ries were i've miles distant and the
/ forests even further away the artistic
!. culture Of these prehistoric redmen
I Is surprising. In artistry and handi-
i crafts they excelled the cliff dwellers,
who are usually thought to have lived
j In q much later period.
i Comparison with the Egyptians"
said Doctor Linton, recalls the Maya
4 Indians OF southern Mexico and Cen.
trail America, who, so far as degree
i of civilization and culture are con.
cerned, were much nearer the Egyp
rians than any other tribe Of American