An ancient style show
Left. These superb, 1500-year old sashes are made of dog hair
Right. Necklaces made of bone, stone and shells
The Basket Maker cradle was entirely different from the wooden cradle we saw used in Cliff Palace. It was a soft flexible affair made of reeds and withes. A long stick was bent into a loop and the ends were tied together to form an oval frame. To this was bound a layer of reeds or slender withes and the cradle was then padded with soft bark or fur. When the baby was bound to the cradle a soft pad was placed under its head and the skull developed normally without being flattened.
Many additional tools of wood, stone and bone are found when Basket Maker caves are excavated: wooden planting sticks and scoops; stone knives, scrapers, drills and pipes; bone awls, scrapers and whistles. An important item was the metate, or milling stone. This was a slab of stone with a shallow trough on the top surface. Corn was placed on the metate and ground with the mano, a small stone which was rubbed back and forth in the trough.
One of the interesting things about the Basket Makers was the manner in which they buried their dead and, surprisingly enough, it is because of this that we have our present knowledge of the early people. All burials which have been found up to the present time have been found in caves, although it is possible that bodies were sometimes buried in other places. A favorite place for burial seems to have been the cists which originally were built for the storage of food. When these were not available graves were dug in the cave floor or the bodies were placed in holes and crevices in the rocks. Often several bodies were buried together and as many as nineteen have been found in a single grave. The bodies were flexed, with the arms and legs drawn up against the chest. Blankets were wrapped around them and sometimes the burial bundle was placed in a large woven bag.
Fortunately for the archeologist it was customary to place offerings in the grave and these consisted of articles the deceased had used or articles his spirit would need in the afterworld. Even though burial took place almost 2000 years ago the dry caves have preserved the materials amazingly well and as a result we have not only the mummified remains of the people but all of the articles which were in daily use centuries ago.
We have seen briefly the outstanding traits of the Basket Maker culture. Summing them up, we see a tribe of Indians living in the Mesa Verde region at the beginning of the Christian Era. Formerly hunters, they turned more and more to farming, raising corn and squash on the mesa tops or in open canyon bottoms. Having no permanent houses they sought the shelter of caves and since pottery was unknown baskets were widely used. The atlatl, or spear thrower, was used instead of the bow. Minor arts and crafts enabled the people to live a comparatively well-rounded life.
The noteworthy point is that from this simple beginning developed the amazing Pueblo culture which reached its peak in the thirteenth century. Since the people were industrious and intelligent they progressed steadily, following the same trail which all people have taken in their climb toward civilization. In the early stages progress was slow but with the acquisition of each new idea the pace quickened.
The great step forward was the abandonment of the chase, the acceptance of a settled farming life. Within a short time they became firmly established agriculturists. Their main dependence for food was soon on their farms, and wild animals and plants became a secondary source.