Fig. 7.—Handled mortar. (Swope collection.) Length 10¾″.
The stone mortars from Mimbres ruins vary in size. Many are simply spherical stones with a depression on one side; others are larger but still spherical, or ovate; while others have square or rectangular forms. The most remarkable feature in these is the presence of a handle on one side, which occasionally is duplicated, and in one instance four knobs or legs project from the periphery. These projections appear to characterize the mortars of the Mimbres, although they are not confined to them, as the form occurs in other regions of New Mexico and in California. One of the most instructive of these small spherical paint mortars, now owned by Mr. E. D. Osborn, has ridges cut in high relief on the outside.
Metates and manos, some broken, others whole, are numerous and can be picked up on almost every prehistoric site. While some of these metates are deeply worn, showing long usage, others have margins but slightly raised above the surface. The majority of metates found on the sites of habitations have no legs, but a typical Mexican metate with three knobs in the form of legs was presented to the National Museum by the Rev. E. S. Morgan, of Deming. Metates are sometimes found in graves with skeletons, presumably those of women. Several ancient metates are now in use as household implements in Mexican dwellings.
If the size of the population were to be gauged by the number of mortars and manos found, certainly the abundance of these implements would show that many people once inhabited the plain through which flows the Mimbres River. Narrow, flat stone slabs have an incised margin on one end. Their use is problematical. The frequency of stone balls suggests games, but these may have been used as weapons; or again, they were possibly used in foot races, as by the Hopi of to-day.
COPPER OBJECTS
Native metallic copper was formerly abundant at the Santa Rita mines, and there is every probability that the material out of which some of the aboriginal copper bells were made was found here, and that these mines were the source of float copper found in Arizona ruins. Although no copper implements were found by the author in the Mimbres ruins, he has been told that objects of copper apparently made by the aborigines have been found in some of the graves.[24]
STONE IDOLS
The author saw several stone idols that were reported to have been obtained from ruins in the Mimbres Valley. These idols represent frogs ([fig. 8]), bears, mountain lions, and other quadrupeds, and have much the same form as those from ancient ruins in Arizona.[25] On the backs of several of these stone idols are incised figures, like arrowheads tied to Zuñi fetishes, or possibly rain-cloud figures. In one instance they were made on an elevated ridge, which unfortunately was broken. The author has also seen several small amulets, perforated apparently for suspension. The stone idols here figured (figs. [8], [9], [10]) were presented to the Deming High School by Dr. Swope.
