The most important step that remains to be taken in the scientific study of the ruins of the Mesa Verde National Park is to discover the relation of the culture of Cliff Palace to that of the neighboring pueblo. This will necessitate the scientific excavation and repair of the latter ruin and a comparison of its major and minor antiquities with those of Cliff Palace. The age of cliff-dwellings in different parts of the Southwest undoubtedly varies. Certain Pueblo ruins are older than some cliff-dwellings, and there are cliff-houses more ancient than Pueblo ruins. Continued research in the Mesa Verde region will doubtless shed light on the relative age of Cliff Palace and the great pueblo ruin opposite it.
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FOOTNOTES:
[1] In his Annual Report for 1908. See also Bulletin 41 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
[2] A few holes that have been dug here and there in these mounds have brought to light sections of walls with good masonry, but no excavations that could be called extensive or scientific have yet been attempted on this site. The excavation of these mounds might reveal a pueblo like Walpi, and a comparison of objects from them with those from Cliff Palace would be important in tracing the relationship of cliff-dwellings and pueblos.
[3] Bulletin 41 of the Bureau of American Ethnology.
[4] All potable water for camp had to be brought from Spruce-tree House, about 2 miles away.
[5] It is generally stated by stockmen and others who claim to have seen Cliff Palace "years ago," that the walls of the buildings were much higher in the early eighties than they are at present.
[6] Appalachia, vi, 28-30, May, 1890, Boston, 1892.