FOOTNOTES

PL. CLXXI— STONE IMPLEMENTS FROM PALATKI, AWATOBI, AND SIKYATKIBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY—— SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXISTONE IMPLEMENTS FROM PALATKI, AWATOBI, AND SIKYATKI

The Sikyatki people buried their dead adorned with necklaces and other ornaments as when living. The materials most highly prized for necklaces were turquois and shell which were fashioned into beads, some of which were finely made. These necklaces did not differ from those now worn, and the shells employed were mostly marine varieties of the genusPectunculus. The turquois beads are often as finely cut as any now worn, and their presence in the graves led to the only serious trouble which I had with my native workmen, as they undoubtedly appropriated many which were found. Some of these turquois beads are simply flat fragments, perforated at one end, others are well formed. Many skeletons had a single turquois near the mastoid process of the skull, showing that they had been worn as ear pendants. On the neck of one skeleton we found a necklace of many strands, composed of segments of the leg bones of the turkey, stained green. There were other specimens of necklaces made of turkey bones, which were smoothly finished and apparently had not been stained.

Necklaces of perforated cedar berries were likewise found, some of them still hanging about the necks of the dead, and in one instance, a small saucer like vessel (platecxx,d) was filled with beads of this kind, as if the necklace had thus been deposited in the grave as a votive offering.

For gorgets the Sikyatki people apparently prized slabs of lignite (plateclxxii,d) and plates of selenite. It was likewise customary to make small clay imitations of birds and shells for this and for other ornamental purposes; these, for the most part, however, were not found in the graves, but were picked up on the surface or in the débris within the rooms.

The three forms imitating birds shown inplateclxxiii,g,h,i, are rude in character, and one of them is crossed by a black line from which depend parallel lines, representing falling rain; all of these specimens have a perforated knot on the under side for suspension, as shown in the figure between them.

The forms of imitations of shells, in clay, of which examples are shown inplateclxxiii,j,k,l, are rude in character; they are often painted with longitudinal or vertical black lines, and have a single or double perforation for suspension. The shell imitated is probably the youngPectunculus, a Pacific-coast mollusk, with which the ancient Hopi were familiar.

I have elsewhere mentioned that every modern Tusayan ceremony opens and closes with a ceremonial smoke, and it is apparent that pipes were highly prized by the ancient Sikyatkians.

The form of pipe used in most ceremonials today has a bowl with its axis at right angles to the stem, but so far as I have studied ancient Pueblo pipes this form appears to be a modern innovation.[158]To determine the probable ancient form of pipe, as indicated by the ritual, I will invite attention to one of the most archaic portions of the ceremonies about the altar of the Antelope priesthood, at the time of the Snake dance at Walpi:[159]

"The songs then ceased, and Wí-ki sent Ká-tci to bring him a light. Ká-tci went out, and soon returned with a burning corncob, while all sat silently awaiting Wí-ki's preparation for the greatÓ-mow-ûhsmoke, which was one of the most sacred acts performed by the Antelope priests in these ceremonials.

"Thewu-kó-tco-ñois a huge, stemless pipe, which has a large opening in the blunt end, and a smaller one in the pointed. It is five inches long, one inch in diameter at the large aperture, and its greatest circumference is seven and a half inches. The pipe is made of some black material, possibly stone, and as far as could be seen was not ornamented. The bowl had previously been filled with leaves carefully gathered from such places as are designated by tradition. In the subsequent smokes the ashes, "dottle," were saved, being placed in a small depression in the floor, but were not again put in the pipe.

"Wí-ki took the live ember from Ká-tci and placed it in the large opening of the pipe, on the leaves which filled its cavity. He then knelt down and placed the pipe between the twotí-po-nis, so that the pointed end rested on the head of the large fetish, between the ears. Every one remained silent, and Wí-ki blew several dense clouds of smoke upon the sand altar, one after another, so that the picture was concealed. The smoke was made by blowing through the pipe, the fire being placed in the bowl next the mouth, and the whole larger end of the pipe was taken into the mouth at each exhalation.

"At the San Juan pueblo, near Santa Fé, where I stopped on my way to Tusayan, I purchased a ceremonial headdress upon which several spruce twigs were tied. Wí-ki received some fragments of these with gratitude, and they formed one of the ingredients which were smoked in the greató-mow-ûhpipe. The scent of the mixture was very fragrant, and filled the room, like incense. The production of this great smoke-cloud, which is supposed to rise to the sky, and later bring the rain, ended the first series of eight songs.

PL. CLXXII— PAINT GRINDER, FETISH, KAOLIN DISKS, AND LIGNITE FROM SIKYATKIBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY—— SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXIIPAINT GRINDER, FETISH, KAOLIN DISKS, AND LIGNITE FROM SIKYATKI

"Immediately after this event, Há-ha-we filled one of the small-stemmed pipes lying near the fireplace with native tobacco, and after lighting it puffed smoke on the altar. He passed the pipe to Wí-ki, holding it near the floor, bowl foremost, as he did so, and exchanging the customary terms of relationship. Wí-ki then blew dense clouds ofsmoke over the twotí-po-nisand on the sand picture. Há-ha-we, meanwhile, lit a second pipe, and passed it to Kó-pe-li, the Snake chief, who enjoyed it in silence, indiscriminately puffing smoke on the altar, to the cardinal points, and in other directions. Kó-pe-li later gave his pipe to Ká-kap-ti, who sat at his right, and Wí-ki passed his to Na-syuñ-'we-ve, who, after smoking, handed the pipe to Kwá-a, who in turn passed it to Ká-tci, by whom it was given to Há-ha-we. Ká-tci, the last priest to receive it before it was returned to the pipe-lighter, smoked for a long time, and repeatedly puffed clouds of smoke upon the sand picture. Meanwhile Ká-kap-ti had handed his pipe to Há-ha-we, both exchanging terms of relationship and carefully observing the accompanying ceremonial etiquette. Há-ha-we, as was his unvarying custom, carefully cleaned the two pipes, and laid them on the floor by the side of the fireplace."

The form of pipe used in the above ceremony is typical of ancient Pueblo pipes, several of which were found at Sikyatki. One of these, much smaller than theó-mow-ûhpipe, was made of lava, and bore evidence of use before burial. It is evident, however, that these straight pipes were not always smoked as above described. The most interesting pipes found at Sikyatki were more elongated than that above mentioned and were made of clay. Their forms are shown inplateclxxiii,b,c,d,f. One of these (b) is very smooth, almost glazed, and enlarged into two lateral wings near the mouth end, which is perforated with a small hole. The cavity at the opposite end is large enough to hold sufficient for a good smoke, and shows evidence of former use. The whole median region of the exterior is formed by a collar incised with lines, as if formerly wrapped with fiber. In some of the modern ceremonials, as that of the Bear-Puma dramatization in the Snake dance, a reed cigarette is used, ancient forms of which have been found in sacrificial caves, and there seems no doubt that this pipe is simply a clay form of those reeds. The markings on the collar would by this interpretation indicate the former existence of a small fabric wrapped about it. The two pipes shown, inplateclxxiii,b,f, are tubular in shape,[160]highly polished, and on one of them (f) we see scratches representing the same feature as the collar ofb, and probably made with the same intent.

The fragment of a pipe shown inplateclxxiii,d, is interesting in the same connection. The end of this pipe is broken, but the stem is intact, and on two sides of the bowl there are elevations covered with crosshatching. The pipe is of clay and has a rough external surface.

It is improbable that these pipes were always smoked as thewu-kó-tco-ñoof the Snake ceremony, but the smaller end was placed to the mouth, and smoke taken into the mouth and exhaled. It is customary in ceremonials now practiced, to wind a wisp of yucca about the stem of a short pipe, that it may not become too hot to hold in the hand.This may be a possible explanation[161]of the scratches on the sides of the ancient tube pipes from Sikyatki.

One of the most important objects made in the secret ceremonials of the modern Pueblos is sacrificial in nature, and is called a paho or "water wood," which is used as an offering to the gods (figure 357). These pahos are made of a prescribed wood, of length determined by tradition, and to them are tied appendages of symbolic meaning. They are consecrated by songs, about an altar, upon which they are laid, and afterward deposited in certain shrines by a special courier.

Fig. 357—Mortuary prayer-stick (natural size)Fig. 357—Mortuary prayer-stick (natural size)

In modern times the forms of these pahos differ very greatly, the shape depending on the society which makes them, the god addressed, and the purpose for which they are used, as understood by the initiated. Among many other uses they are sometimes mortuary in character, and are deposited in the graves of chiefs, as offerings either to the God of Death, or to other deities, to whom they may be presented by the shade or breath body of the deceased. This use of pahos is of ancient origin in Tusayan, as shown by the excavations at Sikyatki, where they were found in mortuary bowls or vases deposited by the relatives or surviving members of the sacerdotal societies to which the deceased had belonged.

This pre-Spanish custom in Tusayan was discovered in my excavations at Awatobi, but the prayer-sticks from that place were fragmentary as compared with the almost perfect pahos from Sikyatki. These pahos are of many forms;[162]some of them are of considerable size, and the majority are of distinctive forms (platesclxxiv-clxxv). There are also many fragments, the former shapes of which could not be determined. When it is considered that these wooden objects withtheir neat carvings were fashioned with stone implements, the high character of the work is very remarkable. They show, in several instances, the imprint of attached strings and feathers, portions of which still remain; also, in one instance, fragments of a pine needle. They are painted with green and black mineral pigments, the former of which had undoubtedly done much to preserve the soft wood of which they were manufactured. As at the present day, cottonwood and willow were the favorite prescribed woods for pahos, and some of the best were made of pine. The forms of these ancient prayer offerings, as mentioned hereafter, differ somewhat from those of modern make, although in certain instances there is a significant resemblance between the two kinds.

PL. CLXXIII— PIPES, BELL, AND CLAY BIRDS AND SHELLS FROM AWATOBI AND SIKYATKIBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY—— SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXIIIPIPES, BELL, AND CLAY BIRDS AND SHELLS FROM AWATOBI AND SIKYATKI

One of the most striking instances of resemblance between the old and the new is the likeness of some of these ancient pahos to those now made by the Flute society, and if this resemblance is more than a coincidence, the conclusion that the present flute paho is a survival of the ancient form may be accepted. As adding weight to this theory it may be mentioned that traditionally the Flute people claim to be the ancient people of Tusayan, and possibly contemporaries, in that province, with the ancient inhabitants of Sikyatki. There is likewise a most suggestive resemblance between these pahos and certain similar sticks from cliff dwellings, and it is a belief, which I can not yet demonstrate as true, that kindred people, or the same sacerdotal societies represented in cliff houses and in Sikyatki, manufactured ceremonial prayer offerings which are identical in design.Plateclxxiv,a, represents a double stick paho, which closely resembles the prayer offering of the modern Flute society. The two rods were found together and originally had been attached, as indicated by the arrangement of the impression of the string midway of their length. The stick of the left has a facet cut on one side, upon which originally three dots were depicted to represent the eyes and the mouth. This member of the paho was the female; the remaining stick was the male. There are two deep grooves, or ferules, cut midway of their length, a distinctive characteristic of the modern flute paho. Both components are painted green, as is still customary in prayer-sticks of this fraternity. The pahos shown inb,c, andd, are likewise ascribed to the same society, and differ from the first only in length. They represent female sticks of double flute pahos. The length of these prayer-sticks varies on different ceremonial days, and is determined by the distance of the shrines for which they are intended. The unit of measurement is the length of certain joints of the finger, and the space between the tip of longest digit to certain creases in the palm of the hand. The length of the ancient Sikyatki pahos, ascribed to the Flute society, follows the same rule.

Plateclxxiv,e,f, have the same ferules referred to in the description above, but are of greater diameter. They are unlike any modernpaho except in this particular. Ingis depicted a still larger prayer-stick, with two serrate incisions on each side of the continuation of the flattened facet.

Specimenshtomare forms of pahos which I can not identify. They are painted green, generally with black tips, round, flattened, and of small size. Figurenis a part of a paho which closely resembles prayer-sticks found in the cliff houses of Mesa Verde and San Juan valley of northern New Mexico.

Numerous specimens of a peculiar razor-shape paho were found, two of which are shown inplateclxxv,o,s. The paho shown in figuredis flat on one side and rounded on the other, narrowing at one end, where it was probably continued in a shaft, and a hole is punctured at the opposite extremity, as if for suspension. It is barely possible that this may have been a whizzer or bull-roarer, such as are used at the present day to imitate the wind, and commonly carried by the performer in a public dance who personifies the warrior. Figuretdiffers from the ordinary flute paho in having five constrictions in the upper part, and in being continued into a very long shank.

The best preserved of all the pahos from the Sikyatki graves are represented inuandv, both of which were found in the same mortuary bowl. They are painted with a thick layer of green pigment, and have shafts, which are blackened and placed in opposite directions in the two figures. Their general form may be seen at a glance. The lower surface of the object shown inuis perfectly flat, and the part represented at the upper end is evidently broken off. This is likewise true of both extremities of the object shown inv; it is also probable that it had originally a serrated end, comparable with that shown inc. A similar terraced extremity survives in the corn paho carried by the so-called Flute girls in the biennial celebrations of the Flute ceremonies in the modern Tusayan pueblos.

I refer the paho to the second group of sacrifices mentioned by Tylor,[163]that of homage, "a doctrine that the gist of sacrifice is rather in the worshiper giving something precious to himself than in the deity receiving benefit. This may be called the abnegation theory, and its origin may be fairly explained by considering it as derived from the original gift theory."

While it is probably true that the Hopi barters his paho with the idea of receiving in return some desired gift, the main element is probably homage, but there is involved in it the third and highest element of sacrifice, abnegation. It is a sacrifice by symbolism, a part for the whole.

On this theory the query naturally is, what does a paho represent? While it is difficult to answer this question, I think a plausible suggestion can be made. It is a sacrifice by symbolic methods of that which the Hopi most prize, corn or its meal.

PL. CLXXIV— PAHOS OR PRAYER-STICKS FROM SIKYATKIBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY—— SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXIVPAHOS OR PRAYER-STICKS FROM SIKYATKI

PL. CLXXV— PAHOS OR PRAYER-STICKS FROM SIKYATKIBUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY—— SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CLXXVPAHOS OR PRAYER-STICKS FROM SIKYATKI

In a simple prayer the sacrifice is a pinch of meal thrown on the fetish or toward it. This is an individual method of prayer, and the pinch of meal, his prayer bearer, the sacrifice.

When a society made its prayers this meal, symbolic of a gift of corn, is tied in a packet and attached to two sticks, one male, the other female, with prescribed herbs and feathers. Here we have the ordinary prayer-stick, varying in details but essentially the same, a sacrifice to the gods appropriately designated by prescribed accessories.

Frequently this packet of meal may be replaced by a picture of an ear of corn drawn on a flat slat, the so-called "corn paho" of the Flute maidens,[164]or we may have an ear of corn tied to the wooden slat. In theMamzrauceremony the women carry these painted slats in their hands, as I have elsewhere described.[165]It appears as if, in all these instances, there exists a sacrificial object, a symbolic offering of corn or meal.

The constant appearance of the feather on the paho has suggested an interpretation of the prayer-plumes as symbolic sacrifices of birds on the theory of a part for the whole; we know that among the Nahua sacrifices of birds were common in many ceremonials. The idea of animal sacrifice, and, if we judge from legends, of human sacrifice, was not an unknown conception among the Pueblos. While it is possible that the omnipresence of the feather on the prayer-sticks may admit of that interpretation, to which it must be confessed the male and the female components in double pahos lend some evidence,[166]I believe the main object was, as above stated, an offering of meal, which constituted the special wealth of an agricultural people.

The excavations at Sikyatki did not reveal a large number of marine shells, although some of the more common genera used in the ancient pueblos were found.

There were several fragments ofPectunculuscut into the form of wristlets, like those from the ruins on the Little Colorado which I have described. Two beautiful specimens ofOliva angulata, truncated at each pole, which occurred in one of the mortuary bowls, and a few conical rattles, made of the spires ofConus, were taken from the graves; there were also a few fragments of an unknownHaliotis. All of the above genera are common to the Pacific, and no doubt were obtained by barter or brought by migratory clans to Tusayan from the far south. One of the most interesting objects in Sikyatki food basins from the necropolis was a comparatively well preserved rattle of a rattlesnake. The Walpi Snake chief, who was employed by me when this was found and was present at the time it was removed from the earth, declaredthat, according to the legends, there were no Snake people living at Sikyatki when it was destroyed, but the discovery of the snake rattle shows that the rattler was not without reverence there, even if not in the house of his friends, and some other explanation may be suggested to account for this discovery. There are evidences that the ancient Hopi, like certain Yuman tribes, wore a snake's rattle as an ornament for the neck, in which case the rattle found in the Sikyatki food basin may have been simply a votive offering, and in no way connected with ceremonial symbolism.

Among many other mortuary offerings was one which was particularly suggestive. This specimen represented inplateclxix,e, is made of unbaked clay, and has a reticulated surface, as if once incrusted with foreign objects. The Hopi who were at work for me declared that this incrustation had been composed of seeds, and that the pits over the surface of the clay cone were evidence of their former existence. They identified this object as a "corn mound," and reminded me that a similar object is now used in thePowamu,Lalakonti, and certain other ceremonies. I have elsewhere mentioned the clay corn mound incrusted with seeds of various kinds in a description of the altar of the last-mentioned ceremony. These corn mountains (ká-ü-tü'-kwi) are made in the November ceremony called theNā-ác-nai-ya, as described in my account of those rites from which I quote[167]—

"TheTá-tau-kya-mûwere very busy in their kib-va. Every member was shelling corn of the different colors as if on a wager. Each man made a figure of moist clay, about four or five inches across the base. Some of these were in the form of two mammæ, and there were also many wedge and cone forms, in all of which were embedded corn kernels, forming the cloud and other of the simpler conventional figures in different colors, but the whole surface was studded as full as possible with the kernels. Each man brought down his ownpó-o-tas(tray), on which he sprinkled prayer-meal, and set hiská-ü-tü'-kwi(corn mountain) upon it. He also placed ears of corn on the tray."

These corn mountains were carried by theTá-tau-kya-mûpriesthood during an interesting ceremony which I have thus described:[168]

"The whole line then passed slowly along the front of the village sideways, facing the north, and singing, and all the women came out and helped themselves to the clay molds and the ears of corn borne by theTá-tau-kya-mû, bestowing many thanks upon the priests."

The fragment of polished stone shown inplateclxix,d, is perforated near the edge for suspension, and was found near the aural orifice of a skull, apparently indicating that it had been used as a pendant. With this object, many rude arrowpoints, concretions of stone, and the kaolin disk mentioned above were also found. Small round disks of pottery, with a median perforation, were not common, although sometimes present. They are identified as parts of primitive drills.

No object made of metal was found at Sikyatki, nor is there any evidence that the ancient people of that pueblo ever saw the Spaniards or used any implement of their manufacture. While negative evidence can hardly be regarded as a safe guide to follow, so far as knowledge of copper is concerned, it is possible that the people of ancient Tusayan pueblos, in their trading expeditions to southern Arizona, may have met races who owned small copper bells and trinkets of metal. I can hardly believe, however, that the Tusayan Indians were familiar with the art of tempering copper, and even if objects showing this treatment shall be found hereafter in the ruins of this province it will have to be proved that they were made in that region, and not brought from the far south.

No glazed pottery showing Spanish influence was found at Sikyatki, but there can hardly be a doubt that the art of glazing pottery was practiced by the ancestors of the Tusayan people. The modern potters of the East Mesa never glaze their pottery, and no fragment of glazed ware was obtained from the necropolis of Sikyatki.

It is the habit of the modern Tusayan Indians to deposit food of various kinds on the graves of their dead. The basins used for that purpose are heaped up with paper-bread, stews, and various delicacies for the breath-body of the deceased. Naturally from its exposed position much of this food is devoured by animals or disappears in other ways. There appears excellent evidence, however, that the mortuary food offerings of the ancient Sikyatkians were deposited with the body and covered with soil and sometimes stones.

The lapse of time since these burials took place has of course caused the destruction of the perishable food substances, which are found to be simple where any sign of their former presence remains. Thin films of interlacing rootlets often formed a delicate network over the whole inner surface of the bowl. Certain of the contents of these basins in the shape of seeds still remain; but these seeds have not germinated, possibly on account of previous high temperatures to which they have been submitted. A considerable quantity of these contents of mortuary bowls were collected and submitted to an expert, the result of whose examination is set forth in the accompanying letter:

U. S. Department of Agriculture, Division of Botony,Washington, D. C., March 25, 1896.

Dear Dr Fewkes: Having made a cursory examination of the samples of supposed vegetable material sent by you day before yesterday, collected at Sikyatki, Arizona, in supposed prehistoric burial places, I have the following preliminary report to make:No. 156247. A green resinous substance. I am unable to say whether or not this is of vegetable origin.No. 156248. A mass of fibrous material intermixed with sand, the fibers consisting in part of slender roots, in part of the hair of some animal.No. 156249. This consists of a mixture of seed with a small amount of sand present. The seeds are, in about the relative order of their abundance, (a) a leguminous shiny seed of a dirty olive color, possibly of the genusParosela(usually known asDalea); (b) the black seed shells, flat on one side and almost invariably broken, of a plant apparently belonging to the familyMalvaceae; (c) large, flat, nearly black achenia, possibly of aCoreopsis, bordered with a narrow-toothed wing; (d) the thin lenticular utricles of aCarex; (e) the minute black, bluntly trihedral seeds of some plant of the familyPolygonaceae, probably anEriogonum. The majority of these seeds have a coating of fine sand, as if their surface had originally been viscous; (f) a dried chrysalis bearing a slight resemblance to a seed.No. 156250. This bottle contains the same material as No. 156249, except that no larvæ are found, but a large, plump, brownish, lenticular seed 4 mm. in diameter, doubtless the seed of aCroton.No. 156251. A thin fragment of matter consisting of minute roots of plants partially intermixed on one surface with sand.No. 156252. This consists almost wholly of plant rootlets and contains a very slight amount of sand.No. 156254. This consists of pieces of rotten wood through which had grown the rootlets of plants. The wood, upon a microscopical examination, is shown to be that of some dicotyledonous tree of a very loose and light texture. The plant rootlets in most cases followed the large ducts that run lengthwise through the pieces of wood and take up the greater part of the space.No. 156255. The mass contained in this bottle is made up of (a) grains, contained in their glumes or husks, of some grass, probablyOryzopsis membranacea; (b) what appears to be the minute spherical spore cases of some microscopical fungus. The spore cases have a wall with a shiny brown covering, or apparently with this covering worn off and exhibiting an interior white shell. Within this is a very large number of spherical spore-like bodies of a uniform size; (c) a few plant rootlets.No. 156256. The material in this bottle is similar to that in 156255 except that the amount of rootlets is greater, the grass seeds are of a darker color, seemingly somewhat more disorganized, and somewhat more slender in form, and that the spore cases seem to be entirely wanting.No. 156257. The material in this bottle is similar to that in No. 156249, containing the seeds numbereda,b,c, anddmentioned under that number, besides a greater amount of plant rootlets and some fragments of corncob.No. 156258. This consists almost entirely of plant rootlets and sand.No. 156259. This consists chiefly of the leaves of some coniferous tree, either anAbiesor aPseudotsuga.All the seeds with the exception of those of the leguminous plant are dead and their seed-coats rotten. The leguminous seeds are still hard and will be subjected to a germination test.[169]For a specific and positive identification of these seeds it will be necessary either for a botanist to visit the region from which they came or to have at his disposal a complete collection of the plants of the vicinity. Under such conditions he could by process of exclusion identify the seeds with an amount of labor almost infinitely less than would be required in their identification by other means.

No. 156247. A green resinous substance. I am unable to say whether or not this is of vegetable origin.

No. 156248. A mass of fibrous material intermixed with sand, the fibers consisting in part of slender roots, in part of the hair of some animal.

No. 156249. This consists of a mixture of seed with a small amount of sand present. The seeds are, in about the relative order of their abundance, (a) a leguminous shiny seed of a dirty olive color, possibly of the genusParosela(usually known asDalea); (b) the black seed shells, flat on one side and almost invariably broken, of a plant apparently belonging to the familyMalvaceae; (c) large, flat, nearly black achenia, possibly of aCoreopsis, bordered with a narrow-toothed wing; (d) the thin lenticular utricles of aCarex; (e) the minute black, bluntly trihedral seeds of some plant of the familyPolygonaceae, probably anEriogonum. The majority of these seeds have a coating of fine sand, as if their surface had originally been viscous; (f) a dried chrysalis bearing a slight resemblance to a seed.

No. 156250. This bottle contains the same material as No. 156249, except that no larvæ are found, but a large, plump, brownish, lenticular seed 4 mm. in diameter, doubtless the seed of aCroton.

No. 156251. A thin fragment of matter consisting of minute roots of plants partially intermixed on one surface with sand.

No. 156252. This consists almost wholly of plant rootlets and contains a very slight amount of sand.

No. 156254. This consists of pieces of rotten wood through which had grown the rootlets of plants. The wood, upon a microscopical examination, is shown to be that of some dicotyledonous tree of a very loose and light texture. The plant rootlets in most cases followed the large ducts that run lengthwise through the pieces of wood and take up the greater part of the space.

No. 156255. The mass contained in this bottle is made up of (a) grains, contained in their glumes or husks, of some grass, probablyOryzopsis membranacea; (b) what appears to be the minute spherical spore cases of some microscopical fungus. The spore cases have a wall with a shiny brown covering, or apparently with this covering worn off and exhibiting an interior white shell. Within this is a very large number of spherical spore-like bodies of a uniform size; (c) a few plant rootlets.

No. 156256. The material in this bottle is similar to that in 156255 except that the amount of rootlets is greater, the grass seeds are of a darker color, seemingly somewhat more disorganized, and somewhat more slender in form, and that the spore cases seem to be entirely wanting.

No. 156257. The material in this bottle is similar to that in No. 156249, containing the seeds numbereda,b,c, anddmentioned under that number, besides a greater amount of plant rootlets and some fragments of corncob.

No. 156258. This consists almost entirely of plant rootlets and sand.

No. 156259. This consists chiefly of the leaves of some coniferous tree, either anAbiesor aPseudotsuga.

All the seeds with the exception of those of the leguminous plant are dead and their seed-coats rotten. The leguminous seeds are still hard and will be subjected to a germination test.[169]

For a specific and positive identification of these seeds it will be necessary either for a botanist to visit the region from which they came or to have at his disposal a complete collection of the plants of the vicinity. Under such conditions he could by process of exclusion identify the seeds with an amount of labor almost infinitely less than would be required in their identification by other means.

Very sincerely yours,Frederick V. Coville,Botanist.

[1]See "The Prehistoric Culture of Tusayan,"American Anthropologist, May, 1896. "Two Ruins Recently Discovered in the Red Rock Country, Arizona," ibid., August, 1896. "The Cliff Villages of the Red Rock Country, and the Tusayan Ruins, Sikyatki and Awatobi, Arizona," Smithsonian Report for 1895.

[2]The reader's attention is called to the fact that this report is not intended to cover all the ruins in the section of Arizona through which the expedition passed; it is simply a description of those which were examined, with a brief mention of such others as would aid in a general comprehension of the subject. The ruins on the Little Colorado, near Winslow, Arizona, will be considered in a monograph to follow the present, which will be a report on the field work in 1896. If a series of monographs somewhat of this nature, but more comprehensive, recording explorations during many years in several different sections, were available, we would have sufficient material for a comprehensive treatment of southwestern archeology.

[3]It may be borne in mind that several other clans besides the Patki claim to have lived long ago in the region southward from modern Tusayan. Among these may be mentioned the Patuñ (Squash) and the Tawa (Sun) people who played an important part in the early colonization of Middle Mesa.

[4]Report upon the Indian Tribes, Pacific Railroad Survey, vol.iii, pt. iii, p. 14, Washington, 1856. The cavate dwellings of the Rio Verde were first described by Dr E. A. Mearns. Although it has sometimes been supposed that Coronado followed the trail along Verde valley, and then over the Mogollones to Rio Colorado Chiquito, Bandelier has conclusively shown a more easterly route.

[5]See mention of cliff houses in Walnut canyon in the Fifth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

[6]The kinship of Cliff dwellers and Pueblos was long ago recognized by ethnologists, both from resemblances of skulls, the character of architecture, and archeological objects found in each class of dwellings. It is only in later years, however, that the argument from similar ceremonial paraphernalia has been adduced, owing to an increase of our knowledge of this side of Pueblo life. See Bessels, Bull. U. S. Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, vol.ii, 1876; Hoffman, Report on Chaco Cranium, ibid., 1877, p. 457. Holmes, in 1878, says: "The ancient peoples of the San Juan country were doubtless the ancestors of the present Pueblo tribes of New Mexico and Arizona." See, likewise, Cushing, Nordenskiöld, and later writers regarding the kinship of Cliff villagers and Pueblos.

[7]Report of the Director of the Bureau of American Ethnology for the year ending June 30, 1894; Smithsonian Report, 1894.

[8]The ruins in Chaves Pass, 110 miles south of Oraibi, will be considered in the report of the expedition of 1896, when extensive excavations were made at this point. About midway between the Chaves Pass ruins and those of Beaver creek, in Verde valley, there are other ruins, as at Rattlesnake Tanks, and as a well-marked trail passes by these former habitations and connects the Verde series with those of Chaves Pass, it is possible that early migrations may have followed this course. There is also a trail from Homolobi and the Colorado Chiquito ruins through Chaves Pass into Tonto Basin.

[9]Smithsonian Report, 1883; Report of Major Powell, Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 57 et seq. Explorations in the Southwest, ibid., 1886, p. 52 et seq.

[10]Report of an Expedition down the Zuñi and Colorado rivers; Washington, 1853.

[11]Smithsonian Report, 1883, Report of the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 62: "Pending the arrival of goods at Moki, Mr Cushing returned across the country to Zuñi for the purpose of observing more minutely than on former occasions the annual sun ceremonials. En route he discovered two ruins, apparently before unvisited. One of these was the outlying structure of K'n'-i-K'él, called by the Navajos Zïnni-jin'ne and by the Zuñis He'-sho'ta pathl-tâĭe, both, according to Zuñi tradition, belonging to the Thlé-e-tâ-kwe, the name given to the traditional northwestern migration of the Bear, Crane, Frog, Deer, Yellow-wood, and other gentes of the ancestral pueblos."

[12]The reduplicated syllable recalls Hopi methods of forming their plural, but is not characteristic of them, and the word Totonteac has a Hopi sound. The supposed derivation of Tonto from Spanishtonto, "fool," is mentioned, elsewhere. The so-called Tonto Apache was probably an intruder, the cause of the desertion of the "basin" by the housebuilders. The question whether Totonteac is the same as Tusayan or Tuchano is yet to be satisfactorily answered. The map makers of the sixteenth century regarded them as different places, and notwithstanding Totonteac was reported to be "a hotte lake" in the middle of the previous century, it held its place on maps into the seventeenth century. It is always on or near a river flowing into the Gulf of California.

[13]Thirteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

[14]Mr Mindeleff's descriptions deal with the same cluster of cavate ruins here described, but are more specially devoted to the more southern section of them, not considering, if I understand him, the northern row here described. I had also made extensive studies of the rooms figured by him previously to the publication of his article, but as my notes on these rooms are anticipated by his excellent memoir I have not considered the rooms described by him, but limited my account to brief mention of a neighboring row of chambers not described in his report.

[15]Journal of American Ethnology and Archæology, vol.ii, No. 1. All the Tusayan kivas with which I am familiar have this raised spectator's part at one end. The altars are always erected at the opposite end of the room, in which is likewise the hole in the floor called thesipapû, symbolic of the traditional opening through which races emerged to the earth's surface from an underworld. Banquettes exist in some Tusayan kivas; in others, however, they are wanting. The raised platform in dwelling rooms is commonly a sleeping place, above which blankets are hung and, in some instances, corn is stored. A small opening in the step often admits light to an otherwise dark granary below the floor. In no instance, however, are there more than one such platform, and that commonly partakes of the nature of another room, although seldom separated from the other chamber by a partition.

[16]Counting from the point of the cliff shown inplatexcia. The positions of the rooms are indicated by the row of entrances.

[17]It was from this region that the individual chambers, described by Mindeleff, were chosen.

[18]Mr Mindeleff, in his valuable memoir, has so completely described the cavate dwellings of the Rio Grande and San Juan regions that their discussion in this account would be superfluous.

[19]See Mindeleff, Cliff Ruins of Canyon de Chelly,American Anthropologist, April, 1895. The suggestion that cliff outlooks were farming shelters in some instances is doubtless true, but I should hesitate giving this use a predominance over outlooks for security. In times of danger, naturally the agriculturist seeks a high or commanding position for a wide outlook; but to watch his crops he must camp among them.

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