Evening star., 1926-11-17
ANCIENT PUEBLO
SITE IS DESCRIBED
Or. ]. Walter FeWkeS Tells of
Work on Buried City
in Arizona.

The remains or VanlSneu people'
who had attained q high degree OF
artistry In clay modelling and bone
carving, dug out of the buried pueblo
near Flagstaff, Ariz., We're de-
scribed to the Anthropological So
ciety of Washington last night by
DR. J. Walter Fewkes, chief OF me
Bureau of American EthnoloSJ Dt
Fewkes. with his assistants scent
the Summer uncovering this an
cient structure of 40 rooms.
This pueblo is at the foot of the
San Francisco MountainS-knoWn
to the Indians as "the pace of the
high SHOWS" and is in the center OF
the holy land Of the Hopi trihesmen.
who still live in Arizona. In the
1Iopi legend. DIR. Pewkes explained
all men originally came out OF tne
Grand Canyon of the Colorado: ami
as they emerged were assigned
parts of the earth in which to hVe;
The unfortunate Hopi came last ana
the only land left was the sagebruSn
covered area Immediately around
the canyon.
Were Poor Builders.
Because of the significance or the
area in Indian mythology. Or. fe"krS
attaches special importance TO q STUDY
oF the vanished culture. The people
Who lived in the Elden pueblo, eXca'
waited this Summer, were not partIcu
larly adept as architects or masons,
he explained. Their building consist
ed of large, rough stones piled on top
of each other with little effort TO
smooth the faces. The stones were
cemented with adobe and Dr. feWkeS
was obliged to recement parts OF tic
walls in order to keep them from lal'c
ing, once the protective covering oi
Garth was removed. The digging out
of this pueblo. DR.. FeWkeS eXpialneu,
Decessitated an enormous amount Oh
work. Ton after ton of dirt was taken
from the rooms There were no 1ndl-
cations visible to the laymen, ne SAID
that in the clearing covered with
rough stones he was standing on top
of a buried city. But certain rough
symmetry in the alignment OF the
stones convinced him that there was
"a pueblo underneath and he decided 10
risk digging.
The walls varied from 4 to 10 feet
high and We're oriented north and
south in accordance with the ancient
Indian religion. One of the largest
rooms was the kiva or temple OF the
vanished people, where they perform
ed weird rites to the sun, the earth
and the great serpent. These were
essentially a race of farmers .he said,
whose mythology was tied up with
the influence of the sun on their
crops They had worked out an
astronomy of their own which enabled
them to follow the course of the sun
from month to month with an ac-
curacy almost as great as that OF the
modern calendar maker.
Cemeteries on Two Sides.
On two sides Of the pueblo were
cemeteries. DIR. Fewkes dug up sew
eral of the graves and found the pre-
historic Americans sleeping in much
the positions they had been placed.
They were laid easily on their backs
and the skeletons surrounded with
bowls and jars Of food In the
Pueblo faith, the dead remained in
the grave four days. after which they
arose and went west to the sunset
a long Journey and requiring plenty
of food on the way. The average
dead man was provided with seven
filled bowls, but the priests of the
tribe, entitled to a spirit journey of
more luxuriance. sometimes were pro-
vided with a dozen or more bowls.
lest they go hungry on the long road.
The jewelry and ornaments of the
dead also were buried with them and
among the most valuable OF the relics
recovered are some bone and shell
bracelets eXQuisitely carved. found
on the wrists of some OF the dead
There is also pitcher made in animal
form and presumed to represent the
Indian Devil. which was found in
the grave Of one of the priests. DR..
Fewkes believes 1t may have been the
symbol of the mans sacred office In
life.
There are also a number Of a spe-
cial pipes used by the Indians to
make clouds"
Smoked for Rain.
The Pueblos, he explained. did not
smoke tobacco for the pleasure they
got out Of it. but in the belief that
the clouds Of smoke they made had a
magical effect in bringing clouds into
the sky and thus rain needed for their
crops. The country always was dry
and rain at times was essential to
prevent complete corn failures.
The bowls were decorated in pat
terms which showed a considerable
mastery Of the arts of fermentation
and form on the part of the Indian
women. 1t would be difficult for
modern pottery maker with stamps
TO turn out more uniform designing
on clay. DR.. Fewkes explains, than
these women achieved by means Of
accuracy of eye and touch.
Elden Pueblo, DR.. Fewkes said, is
particularly valuable as a relic be-
cause it is near a national highway,
which win make 1t one Of the easiest
sites of pre- historic American culture
to visit. He was visited by dozens
of parties during the execavating
10