INTRODUCTION.
It is thought best that I should give, in connection with the catalogue of collections made by the party under my charge in 1880-’81, a brief statement in relation to the collections described in the catalogues, and the information obtained in regard to the Pueblo tribes.
Our explorations during the field season of 1880 and 1881 were restricted to the Pueblo tribes located along the Rio Grande and its tributaries in New Mexico. The chief object in view was to secure as soon as possible all the ethnological and archaeological data obtainable before it should be lost to science by the influx of civilized population which is being rapidly thrown into this region by the extension of railroads into and through it. Not only are the architectural remains being rapidly destroyed and archaeological specimens collected and carried away by travelers, excursionists, and curiosity hunters, but the ancient habits and customs of these tribes are rapidly giving way and falling into disuse before the influence of eastern civilization.
Our party, consisting, besides myself, of Mr. Galbraith, archaeologist, Mr. Morancy, assistant, and Mr. J. K. Hillers, photographer, proceeded to Santa Fé, N. Mex., where an outfit was secured for the season’s work. From here we proceeded to Taos, one of the most extensive pueblos in the Rio Grande region. This village is situated on the Rio Taos a few miles from the Rio Grande, and just under the shadow of the Taos Mountains. It comprises two large sections, one on each side of the Rio Taos. These are compactly built and each six stories high. The industrial pursuits of these Indians are principally pastoral and agricultural, they having a good market for their products in the Mexican village of Fernandez de Taos, containing a population of about 4,000 Mexicans and eastern people.
The party spent several days here making investigations and collections. The collection made was small but quite varied and novel, though few of the articles obtained were of their own manufacture.
Quite a number of stone implements were secured, among which
were some stone knives, pipes, a number of rude stone axes and hammers, arrow smoothers, &c. The pottery obtained here is chiefly of the common type and resembles that from San Juan, from whence in all probability it was received by exchange and barter. Earthenware, so far as I can learn, is not now made in Taos, except by a few families where a Taos Indian has married a woman from San Juan or some other tribe where the manufacture of pottery is carried on. If this industry was ever, practiced by the Taos Indians it must have been at a remote period; in fact there seems to be no tradition of it now among them.
From here we went next to the pueblo of San Juan, situated on the left bank of the Rio Grande, about 50 miles south of Taos. At this pueblo a collection was made of stone implements, articles of clay, &c. These specimens are not quite so representative as those from some of the more southern pueblos, the village being situated on one of the military wagon roads, over which many Europeans pass, and hence frequently visited; many of the most valuable specimens of implements and pottery have been bartered away; however, those we obtained display quite fully all the industries of the people of this pueblo. This collection consists of a number of fine stone mortars, pestles, arrow and spear heads, also several polishing stones. Quite a number of small animal forms carved out of stone were also secured. At this pueblo many specimens of the black polished ware peculiar to a few of the tribes in the Rio Grande Valley were collected.
From San Juan we proceeded to Santa Clara, situated a few miles below on the right bank of the Rio Grande. This pueblo proved to be so interesting in its surroundings that some time was spent here in making investigations. We found the people extensively engaged in the manufacture of that black polished pottery of which so little has been known heretofore, especially in regard to the process of baking and coloring it, which is fully described in the text accompanying the catalogue of last year in this volume. The larger portion of the specimens of earthenware obtained here was of this kind, though several specimens of the red and some few of the ornamented class were also secured.
Most of the pottery manufactured at this village is the black polished ware. That of the decorated class is ornamented with the juice of Cleome integrifolia, which is fixed in the ware in the process of burning. Mineral substances, so far as I could learn, are not used by the Indians of Santa Clara in decorating their pottery.
Among the specimens are a number of interesting stone implements, nearly all of an older kind than any made by this people at the present day.
During our stay at this pueblo some interesting archaeological discoveries were made of which a brief mention in this connection may not be out of place, and which will certainly prove of great interest to future investigators. Between the Rio Grande and Valle Mountains, commencing
about 12 miles below, or south, of Santa Clara, and extending south, to within ten miles of Cochití, a distance of about 65 miles, is an extensive area, the intermediate elevated portion of which is composed of a yellowish volcanic tufa, of coarse texture and sufficiently soft and yielding to be readily worked or carved with rude stone implements. Over this entire area there are irregular elevations, somewhat circular in outline, from 50 to 200 feet in height, the faces of which have been worn away by the elements, and are in nearly all instances perpendicular. These consecutive elevations extend back from the Rio Grande from five to fifteen miles. Over this whole expanse of country, in the faces of these cliffs, we found an immense number of cavate dwellings, cut out by the hand of man. We made no attempt to count the number of these curious dwellings, dug like hermit cells out of the rock, but they may be estimated with safety among the thousands. I made many inquiries of the neighboring tribes in regard to the history of these dwellings, but could elicit no information from any of them. The response was invariably, “they are very old and the people who occupied them are gone.”
An inspection of a portion of this area revealed a condition of things which I have no doubt prevails throughout. The dwellings were found in the faces of the cliffs, about 20 feet apart in many instances, but the distances are irregular. A careful examination satisfied me that they were excavated with rude stone implements resembling adzes, numbers of which were found here, and which were probably used by fastening one end to a handle.
The doorways, which are square, were first cut into the face of the wall to a depth of about one foot, and then the work of enlarging the room began. The interiors of the rooms are oval in shape, about 12 feet in diameter, and only of sufficient height to enable one to stand upright.
The process, from the evidences shown inside, of carving out the interior of the dwelling was by scraping grooves several inches deep and apart, and breaking out the intermediate portion; in this way the work progressed until the room reached the desired size. Inside of these rooms were found many little niches and excavated recesses used for storing household ornaments, the larger ones probably supplying the place of cupboards. Near the roofs of many of the caves are mortises, projecting from which, in many instances, were found the decayed ends of wooden beams or sleepers, which were probably used, as they are now in the modern Pueblo dwellings, as poles over which to hang blankets and clothing, or to dry meat. These dwellings were without fireplaces; but the evidences of fire were plainly visible at the side of each cave, and in none of those visited did we find any orifice for the egress of the smoke but the small doorway. On the outside or in front of these singular habitations are rows of holes mortised into the face of the cliffs about the doors. It is quite evident that these were for the insertion of beams of wood (for forming booths or shelters in the front), as ends of
beams were found sticking there, which, in their sheltered position and in this dry climate, may have been preserved for centuries.
Upon the top of the mesa of which these cliffs are the exposed sides we found the ruins of large circular buildings made of square stones 8 by 12 inches in size. The walls of some of these structures remain standing to the height of ten or twelve feet, and show that from four to five hundred people can find room within each inclosure. One of these buildings was rectangular and two were round structures. The latter were about 100 and 150 feet in diameter, the rectangular one about 300 feet square. Many small square rooms were constructed in the interior from large cut bricks of the tufa of which the bluffs are composed. These rooms all opened toward the center of the large inclosure, which has but one general doorway. From these ruins we secured great quantities of pottery, arrow and spear heads, knives, grinding-stones, arrow-smoothers, and many of the small flint adzes, which were undoubtedly used for making the blocks for the structures on the mesa and for excavating the cave dwellings. Among the débris in the dwellings are found corncobs and other evidences of the food used by the inhabitants. This certainly indicates that the people who occupied these singular dwellings were agricultural.
The faces of some of the more prominent cliffs contained as many as three rows of chambers one above the other; the débris at the foot, sometimes 200 feet deep, covered up at least two rows of these chambers.
Along the edges of the cliffs and over the rocky surface of the mesa are winding footpaths from 3 to 10 inches deep, worn by the feet of the inhabitants. Some of these paths showed perceptible foot-prints where it was inconvenient for those following the path to do otherwise than tread in the footsteps of their predecessors.
In our limited investigations we were unable to discover any evidence of burial customs. No graves could be found, and nothing of human remains.
The southern portion of this area seems to have been most densely populated. Some of the protected walls in the neighborhood retain hieroglyphics in abundance. These resemble the picture writing of the present Indians of that region. Many interesting specimens of the art of this ancient people can be seen in the images of wild animals scattered over various spots. Many of them are cut in full relief out of the tufa and are always in some natural attitude, and can always be identified where the weather has not destroyed the original form. The most prominent are two mountain lions, side by side and life size.
Further examinations will reveal much more of value and interest in connection with this very inviting locality.
Mr. Galbraith, who accompanied my party, spent some time examining this region and made collections here.
The next pueblo visited was San Ildefonso, about five miles below Santa Clara, on the opposite bank of the Rio Grande. But few specimens
were obtained here. The people of this pueblo devote their time chiefly to agricultural and pastoral pursuits, and have almost abandoned the manufacture of pottery, that in use by them at the present time being mostly obtained from neighboring tribes.
From San Ildefonso we proceeded to Nambé, a pueblo which has become almost extinct. The remnant of this people is situated about 25 miles above Ildefonso, on Nambé Creek, and not far from the base of the mountains. The people of Nambé have several times in years past moved their pueblo higher up the stream, the valley of which furnishes them fine agricultural and grazing grounds. They make very little pottery, but we found stored in many of the houses of the village great quantities of stone implements, principally large metates and grinding-stones. We also found many specimens of interest among the ruins of old Nambé and Pojuaque, as well as the remains of pottery in such quantities as to show that in the past the manufacture of pottery had been carried on quite extensively. In this vicinity I made arrangements with one of the employés of the party, who had resided many years at Santa Fé, to make excavations and collections from the old sites of Nambé, Pojuaque, and Cuyamunque, in which he was quite successful.
From the pueblos north of Santa Fé we traveled direct to Cochití, 27 miles southwest of Santa Fé. This village is situated on the right bank of the Rio Grande and about three miles from Peña Blanca, a small Mexican town opposite. Here a very interesting collection was secured consisting mostly of pottery, many of the vessels simulating animal forms, variously ornamented with representations of some varieties of the flora of the locality. A few stone implements were also obtained here.
We next visited Jémez, situated on the Rio Jémez. From thence we went to Silla and Santa Ana. At each of these villages representative collections were made, all of which are referred to in detail in the catalogue.
The next villages visited were Santo Domingo and Sandia, on the Rio Grande. Some characteristic specimens were obtained at each of these pueblos. The method of their manufacture and the manner of using them are generally the same as in most of the other pueblos.
A small collection of rude stone hammers was obtained from the turquois mine in the Cerrillo Mountains, about 25 miles from Santa Fé.
The products of this celebrated mine, which were objects of traffic all over New Mexico, as well as contiguous countries, probably formed one inducement which led to the Spanish conquest of this region. The turquoises from this mine have always been valued as ornaments by the Indians of New Mexico, and carried far and wide for sale by them. The mine was worked in a most primitive manner with these rude stone hammers, a number of which were secured.
The collections are all now in the National Museum for study and inspection.
The following sketch is introduced here to show the method of using the batten stick represented in Fig. 546. There is not a family among the Pueblos or Navajos that does not possess the necessary implements for weaving blankets, belts and garters. Figs. 500-502 will convey an idea of the variety in design and coloring which prevails in this class of Indian fabrics, while [Fig. 710] represents a blanket weaver at work. The picture is taken from a photograph made on the spot by Mr. Hillers, and is colored in accordance with the actual colors of the yarns and threads used in its manufacture.
Fig. 710. THE BLANKET WEAVER.
The particular class of blankets represented in this illustration is woven in the estufas, and is used almost exclusively in sacred dances and ceremonies of the tribe, all other garments being made in the houses or in the open air. The Navajos are celebrated for their skill as blanket weavers, and the Mokis are equally skilled in the manufacture of a finer class of the same article, which is much sought after by the surrounding tribes for ornamental purposes in sacred and other dances.
The vertical threads, as shown in the figure, are the warp threads; the coarser thread which is inserted transversely between these is the yarn or weft. The three rods in the center of the blanket are lease rods, which are introduced among the threads of the warp to separate them and thus facilitate the insertion of the weft thread. These rods are each passed in front of one warp thread and behind another, alternately, across the whole warp, and between each rod the threads are brought from the back of one to the front of the next, and vice versa. The bar held in hands of the weaver serves as a batten for driving or beating the weft thread into the angle formed by the crossed warp threads.
This loom resembles in principle the ancient Egyptian, Grecian, and French looms which are described on pages 55 to 62 of “The History and Principles of Weaving by Hand and Power,” by A. Barlow, London, 1878, and on pages 41 to 45 of the “Treatise on Weaving and Designing of Textile Fabrics,” by Thomas E. Ashenhurst, Bradford, England, 1881. See also pp. 200 to 208, Vol. II, of the “Cotton Manufacture of Great Britain,” by A. Ure, London, 1861.