The Coconino sun., 1926-02-26
ARIZONA OFFERS VAST
FIELD TO SCIENTISTS

AAAO " OO1LAV kUA -
We do not agree entirely with DR..
/ Cockerell in his assertion that the
southwest is intellectually dependent
on the rest Of the world. However.
the statement was made in a worthy
cause-that of stimulating interest in
science throughout the southwest.
The presidential address of Dr.. Cock
erell at the convention of the Asso-
citation for the Advancement Of
Science at Phoenix Monday, rouses us
to examine the several fields that lie
open before US here.
That science which Is Eat your
doors" according to the learned biolo>
gist, we take to be archaeology. And
surely there is material enough to
keep savants of that classification
busy for many years, scattered all
over Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado,
Utah and Nevada. We have vet to
hear Of extensive dwellings, and re-
mains in southern California, but
there are doubtless many instances Of
archaeological deposits there.
The southwest appeals to US from
scientific viewpoint as about as rich
in opportunities as any region in the
world and tremendously more so than
most. There are the following
sciences to be exalted here-among
others:
Archaeology-because the oldest re-
mains in the United States, the best
preserved because of our arid eli
mate, and certainly the most import
ant from the angle of racial studies,
are contained within the southwest.
Astronomy-because the clear,
steady air of Arizona is the finest in
the world for seeing. Astronomy
needs not greater instrumental power
but more reliable atmospheric cond-
tions for its studies Of the heavens.
Geology-Mountain, desert, canyon
anil valley formations, containing
such important geological side issues
as naturalization and fossil trees,
plants and animals, provide the south
west with the finest field in the world
for geology. At the Grand Canyon
an expert can stand in one spot and
see strata laid bare from the latest
limestones to the pre-sedimentary de-
posits of archean granite. And we
have known geologists who have con-
fessed to spending lifetimes surveying
in the east without discovering as
many geological features as they
gIimpsed in a moment at the cam
yon's rim
Metallurgy and mining-with oper
ating mines and smelters to work in,
the researcher in these lines can find
lifetime of happy, useful work.
Forestry-Another huge Arizona
resource gives the scientist an oppor
tunity to study practically every
known timber and other tree from the
spruces and aspens of high cold eli
mates to the palms and fruit bearers /
of the seni-tropics.
Irrigation-This subject is not hon
ored with a science by itself, bat it
might well be if or although touching
many other sciences, it holds a place
by itself. 1t has history, tradi-
tion going back far beyond historic
times, and a technique that is rapidly
working wonders in many operative
fields in Arizona.
Anthropology and Ethnology-Two
separate but not always separated
sciences. In the Indians of Arizona
and New Mexico we have the clearest
lire Of descent from ancient times of
any section on the hemisphere except
those of lower Mexico and the Inca
lands of South America. The import
ance Of the pueblo-building Indians in
studies of these sorts is relatively
greater than that Of plains and esat-
ern and southern Indians because the !
ancestors of the pueblo-builders left
their cultures written in preserved /
dwellings and not merely in buried |
rubbish heaps.
Arizona alone, disregarding other
parts of the southwest, has made two
valuable contributions to recent sclen-
tific research. They are the results
obtained at Lowell observatory in con- /
sideration Of the planet system aud
especially as to Mars and the find
ings Of DR.. A. K. Douglass of the
University Of Arizona with respect to
tree-records of rainfall. DR. Doug
lass contribution to climatology is
that of sheer genius when its broader
significance is finally understood, and
he has but opened the first door to
the secret chamber.
We have always hoped for the day
when the Smoki people would become
earnest and effective in their declar-
ed program Of unearthing what they
might about the past of Arizona.
They may easily-one day-become
contributors to anthropology, ethnol-
ogy, archaeology and history. And
even a small beginning is justified by