Evening star., 1926-03-28
Mesa Verde Ruins.

Evidences brought 10 light by late
researches among the ruins left oy
prehistoric man in the Mesa Verde
National Park in Colorado are chron
illogical indication of an evolution oi
ancient culture through long period
of time in this part of the America
continent. in the opinion of DR.. j.
Walter Fewkes. chief of the Bureau
Of American Ethnology of the Smith
sonian Institution. DR.. Fewkes has
long been a student Of these ruins.
He has been impressed with the diff
ferences in building and dinerent
forms of artifaCts found there.
1t seems to me that in the evolu
ton of the Mesa Verde culture" says
DR. F'ewkes. I'VE have a fragment OF
prehistoric development from simple
TO complex types unaffected by out
side influences. although profoundly
affected by environment, sending out
influences reaching to most distant
regions of the Southwest and leaving
vastigial survivors in several geo
graphical areas. There are indica
tions that the Mesa Verde has modi-
fed the evolution of mans develop
ment in our Southwest and is true
child of the environments of the past.
DR.. Fewkes said that there is n"
area Of equal size in North America
that contains so many different types
of ruins as the Mesa Verde plateau
In Colorado
II do not mean, of course, that there
are not other regions, said DR..
Fewkes. where we have in as limited
an area traces of as large popula
ton, but none in which there are So
many different types of architecture
and as many evidences of varieties OF
culture of the population as here.
These differences are slight, 10 be sure.
but the interesting thing is that there
are any in centers of population So
closely crowded together.
ITO the large majority of people
who know our Southwest. the name
Mesa Verde suggests the cliff dwellings
and for a long time the only buildings
that were associated with this monu-
ment were the large dwellings, con
structed in the mammoth caves of
this region. But in the course of time
archeologists pointed out evidences of
other types of ruined buildings, some
of which were like those in the val
leys around the Mesa and some of
which were unique, unrepresented
elsewhere in North America.
Progress in investigation of these
types and the small objects found III
them revealed characteristic differ
ences in the culture of the people who
built them, and continued study will
increase the number and character of
these types. Theories have been of
fered to explain this want of uni
formity. but none of these is wholly
satisfactory The question naturally
arises whether they are Indicative of
different chronological epochs in the
development of the work of man on
this plateau: whether they belonged Ia
the series of development stages from
simple to complex: were builders of
different architecture simultaneously
inha abited, or were different phases Of
the same people but synchronous in
time"
While reaching the conclusion that
these ruins are evidences Of chrome
logical epochs in culture. DR.. FewSes
says that he has not attempted to date
any of the types considered in terms
of the Christian era.
THE evidence furnished by the
number of annual rings of a cedar
tree which grew on top of the wall of
Sun Temple, the highest form of the
type of towers" said DR.. Fewkes.
shows that it was constructed before
1910 A.D., the date Of Coronados
entrance into Ine Pueblo area. No
white man ever saw Mesa Verde when
it was inhabited by it's prehistoric
house builders. We have as vet.
however, no means of knowing how
many years passed before the fif
teenth century aboriginal settlers
came to the area now called Mesa
Verde and can only offer speculations
in reply to this question.
I'VE have in this park evidences of
characteristic stages in development
of architecture which would imply
many years growth. and we must al
low considerable antiquity for the in
habitants of this region to account for
the objects of material culture