Plate XVIII: 2. a and b. Strongly flattened cranium of a child. Found in a room in Sprucetree House.
Plate XXXIV: 4. Stone axe of porphyrite. Sprucetree House.
Plate XXXV: 2. Rough-hewn stone axe of quartzite. Sprucetree House.
Plate XXXIX: 6. Implement of black slate. Form peculiar (see the text). Found in Sprucetree House.
[In the text the last-mentioned specimen is again referred to, as follows:]
I have still to mention a number of stone implements the use of which is unknown to me, first some large (15-30 cm.), flat, and rather thick stones of irregular shape and much worn at the edges (Pl. XXXIX: 4, 5), second a singular object consisting of a thin slab of black slate, and presenting the appearance shown in Pl. XXXIX: 6. My collection contains only one such implement, but among the objects in Wetherill’s possession I saw several. They are all of exactly the same shape and of almost the same size. I cannot say in what manner this slab of slate was employed. Perhaps it is a last for the plaiting of sandals or the cutting of moccasins. In size it corresponds pretty nearly to the foot of an adult.
Plate XL: 5. Several ulnæ and radii of birds (turkeys) tied on a buckskin string and probably used as an amulet. Found in Sprucetree House.
Plate XLIII: 6. Bundle of 19 sticks of hard wood, probably employed in some kind of knitting or crochet work. The pins are pointed at one end, blunt at the other, and black with wear. They are held together by a narrow band of yucca. Found in Sprucetree House.
Plate XLIV: 2. Similar to the preceding basket, but smaller. Found in Sprucetree House....
[The “preceding basket” is thus described in explanation of the figure (Pl. XLIV: 1):] Basket of woven yucca in two different colors, a neat pattern being thus attained. The strips of yucca running in a vertical direction are of the natural yellowish brown, the others (in horizontal direction) darker....
Plate XLV: 1(95) and 2(663): Small baskets of yucca, of plain colour and of handsomely plaited pattern. Found: 1 in ruin 9, 2 in Sprucetree House.
Plate XLVIII: 4(674). Mat of plaited reeds, originally 1.2 × 1.2 m., but damaged in transportation. Found in Sprucetree House.
It appears from the foregoing that the following specimens have been described and figured by Nordenskiöld, from Spruce-tree House: (1) A child’s skull; (2) 2 stone axes; (3) a slab of black slate; (4) several bird bones used for amulet; (5) bundle of sticks; (6) 2 small baskets; (7) a plaited mat.
In addition to the specimens above referred to, the majority of which are duplicated in the author’s collection, no objects from Spruce-tree House are known to have been described or figured elsewhere, so that there are embraced in the present account practically all printed references to known material from this ruin. But there is no doubt that other specimens as yet unmentioned in print still exist in public collections in Colorado, and later these also may be described and figured. From the nature of the author’s excavations and method of collecting, little hope remains that additional specimens may be obtained from rooms in Spruce-tree House, but the northern refuse-heap situated at the back of the cavern may yet yield a few good objects. This still awaits complete scientific excavation.
The author’s collection from Spruce-tree House, the choice specimens of which are now in the National Museum, numbers several hundred objects. All the duplicates and heavy specimens, about equal in number to the lighter ones, were left at the ruin where they are available for future study. These are mostly stone mauls, metates and large grinding implements, and broken bowls and vases. The absence from Spruce-tree House of certain characteristic objects widely distributed among Southwestern ruins is regarded as worthy of comment. It will be noticed in looking over the author’s collection that there are no specimens of marine shells, or of turquoise ornaments or obsidian flakes, from the excavations made at Spruce-tree House. This fact is significant, meaning either that the former inhabitants of this village were ignorant of these objects or that the excavators failed to find what may have existed. The author accepts the former explanation, that these objects were not in use by the inhabitants of Spruce-tree House, their ignorance of them having been due mainly to their restricted commercial dealings with their neighbors.
Obsidian, one of the rarest stones in the cliff-dwellings of the Mesa Verde, as a rule is characteristic of very old ruins and occurs in those having kivas of the round type, to the south and west of that place.
It is said that turquoise has been found in the Mesa Verde ruins. The author has seen a beautiful bird mosaic with inlaid turquoise from one of the ruins near Cortez in Montezuma valley. This specimen is made of hematite with turquoise eyes and neckband of the same material; the feathers are represented by stripes of inlaid turquoise. Also inlaid in turquoise in the back is an hourglass figure, recalling designs drawn in outline on ancient pottery.
The absence of bracelets, armlets, and finger rings of sea shells, objects so numerous in the ruins along the Little Colorado and the Gila, may be explained by lack of trade, due to culture isolation. The people of Mesa Verde appear not to have come in contact with tribes who traded these shells, consequently they never obtained them. The absence of culture connection in this direction tells in favor of the theory that the ancestors of the Mesa Verde people did not come from the southwest or the west, where shells are so abundant. Although not proving much either way by itself, this theory, when taken with other facts which admit of the same interpretation, is significant. The inhabitants of Spruce-tree House (the same is true of the other Mesa Verde people) had an extremely narrow mental horizon. They obtained little in trade from their neighbors and were quite unconscious of the extent of the culture of which they were representatives.
The women of Spruce-tree House were expert potters and decorated their wares in a simple but artistic manner. Until we have more material it would be gratuitous to assume that the ceramic art objects of all the Mesa Verde ruins are identical in texture, colors, and symbolism, and the only way to determine how great are the variations, if any, would be to make an accurate comparative study of pottery from different localities. Thus far the quantity of material available does not justify comparison even of the ruins of this mesa, but there is a good beginning of a collection from Spruce-tree House. The custom of placing in graves offerings of food for the dead has preserved several good bowls, and although whole pieces are rare fragments are found in abundance. Eighteen earthenware vessels, including those repaired and restored from fragments, rewarded the author’s excavations at Spruce-tree House. Some of these vessels bear a rare and beautiful symbolism which is quite different from that known from Arizona. The few plates (16-20) here given to illustrate these symbols are offered more as a basis for future study and comparisons than as an exhaustive representation of ceramics from one ruin.
The number and variety of pieces of pottery figured from the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings have not been great. An examination of Nordenskiöld’s memoir reveals the fact that he represents about 50 specimens of pottery; several of these were obtained by purchase, and others came from Chelly canyon, the pottery of which is strikingly like that of Mesa Verde. The majority of specimens obtained by Nordenskiöld’s excavations were from Step House, not a single ceramic object from Spruce-tree House being figured. So far as the author can ascertain, the ceramic specimens here considered are the first representatives of this art from Spruce-tree House that have been described or figured, but there may be many other specimens from this locality awaiting description and it is to be hoped that some day these may be made known to the scientific world.
Every form of pottery represented by Nordenskiöld, with the exception of that which he styles a “lamp-shaped” vessel and of certain platter forms with indentations, occurs in the collection here considered.
Nordenskiöld figures a jar provided with a lid, both sides of which are shown.[22] It would seem that this lid (fig. 1),[23] unlike those provided with knobs, found by the author, had two holes near the center. The decoration on the top of the lid of one of the author’s specimens resembles that figured by Nordenskiöld, but other specimens differ from his as shown in figure 1. The specimens having raised lips and lids are perforated in the edges of the openings, with one or more holes for strings or handles. As bowls of this form are found in sacred rooms they would seem to have been connected with worship. The author believes that they served the same purposes as the netted gourds of the Hopi. Most of the ceramic objects in Spruce-tree House were in fragments when found.[24] Some of these objects have been repaired and it is remarkable that so much good material for the study of the symbolism has been obtained in this way.
Black-and-white ware is the most common and the characteristic painted pottery, but fragmentary specimens of a reddish ware occur. One peculiarity in the lips of food bowls from Spruce-tree House (pls. 16-18) is that their rims are flat, instead of rounded as in more western prehistoric ruins, like Sikyatki. Food bowls are rarely concave at the base.
No fragments of glazed pottery were found, although the surfaces of some species were very smooth and glossy from constant rubbing with smoothing stones. Several pieces of pottery were unequally fired, so that a vitreous mass, or blotch, was evident on one side. Smooth vessels and those made of coiled ware, which were covered with soot from fires, were evidently used in cooking.
Several specimens showed evidences of having been broken and afterwards mended by the owners (fig. 2); holes were drilled near the line of fracture and the two parts tied together; even the yucca strings still remain in the holes, showing where fragments were united. In figure 3 there is represented a fragment of a handle of an amphora on which is tied a tightly-woven cord.
Not a very great variety of pottery forms was brought to light in the operations at Spruce-tree House. Those that were found are essentially the types common throughout the Southwest, and may be classified as follows: (1) Large jars, or ollas; (2) flat food bowls; (3) cups and mugs; (4) ladles or dippers (fig. 4); (5) canteens; (6) globular bowls. An exceptional form is a globular bowl with a raised lip like a sugar bowl (pl. 19, f). This form is never seen in other prehistoric ruins.
Classified by structure, the pottery found in the Spruce-tree House ruin falls into two groups, coiled ware and smooth ware, the latter either with or without decoration. The white ware has black decorations.
The bases of the mugs (pl. 19) from Spruce-tree House, like those from other Mesa Verde ruins, have a greater diameter than the lips. These mugs are tall and their handles are of generous size. One of the mugs found in this ruin has a T-shaped hole in its handle (fig. 5), recalling in this particular a mug collected in 1895 by the author at Awatobi, a Hopi ruin.
The most beautiful specimen of canteen found at Spruce-tree House is here shown in plate 20.
The coiled ware of Spruce-tree House, as of all the Mesa Verde ruins, is somewhat finer than the coiled ware of Sikyatki. Although no complete specimen was found, many fragments were collected, some of which are of great size. This kind of ware was apparently the most abundant and also the most fragile. As a rule these vessels show marks of fire, soot, or smoke on the outside, and were evidently used as cooking vessels. On account of their fragile character they could not have been used for carrying water, for, with one or two exceptions, they would not be equal to the strain. In decoration of coiled ware the women of Spruce-tree House resorted to an ingenious modification of the coils, making triangular figures, spirals, or crosses in relief, which were usually affixed to the necks of the vessels.
The symbolism on the pottery of Spruce-tree House is essentially that of a cliff-dwelling culture, being simple in general characters. Although it has many affinities with the archaic symbols of the Pueblos, it has not the same complexity. The reason for this can be readily traced to that same environmental influence which caused the communities to seek the cliffs for protection. The very isolation of the Mesa Verde cliff-dwellings prevented the influx of new ideas and consequently the adoption of new symbols to represent them. Secure in their cliffs, the inhabitants were not subject to the invasion of strange clans nor could new customs be introduced, so that conservatism ruled their art as well as their life in general. Only simple symbols were present because there was no outside stimulus or competition to make them complex.
On classification of Spruce-tree House pottery according to technique, irrespective of its form, two divisions appear: (1) Coiled ware showing the coils externally, and (2) smooth ware with or without decorations. Structurally both divisions are the same, although their outward appearance is different.
The smooth ware may be decorated with incised lines or pits, but is painted often in one color. All the decorated vessels obtained by the author at Spruce-tree House belong to what is called black-and-white ware, by which is meant pottery having a thin white slip covering the whole surface upon which black pictures are painted. Occasionally fragments of a reddish brown cup were found, while red ware bearing white decorative figures was recovered from the Mesa Verde; but none of these are ascribed to Spruce-tree House or were collected by the author. The general geographical distribution of this black-and-white ware, not taking into account sporadic examples, is about the same as that of the circular kivas, but it is also found where circular kivas are unknown, as in the upper part of the valley of the Little Colorado.
The black-and-white ware of modern pueblos, as Zuñi and Hano, the latter the Tewan pueblo among the Hopi, is of late introduction from the Rio Grande; prehistoric Zuñi ware is unlike that of modern Zuñi, being practically identical in character with that of the other ancient pueblos of the Little Colorado and its tributaries.
As a rule, the decoration on pottery from Spruce-tree House is simple, being composed mainly of geometrical patterns. Life forms are rare, when present consisting chiefly of birds or rude figures of mammals painted on the outside of food bowls (fig. 6). The geometrical figures are principally rectilinear, there being a great paucity of spirals and curved lines. The tendency to arrange rows of dots along straight lines is marked in Mesa Verde pottery and occurs also in dados of house walls. There are many examples of stepped or terraced figures which are so arranged in pairs that the spaces between the terraces form zigzag bands, as shown in figure 7. A band extending from the upper left hand, to the lower right hand, angle of the rectangle that incloses the two terraced figures, may be designated a sinistral, and when at right angles a dextral, terraced figure (fig. 8). Specimens from Spruce-tree House show considerable modification in these two types.
With exception of the terrace the triangle (fig. 9) is possibly the most common geometrical decoration on Spruce-tree House pottery. Most of the triangles may be bases of terraced figures, for by cutting notches on the longer sides of these triangles, sinistral or dextral stepped figures (as the case may be) result.
The triangles may be placed in a row, united in hourglass forms, or distributed in other ways. These triangles may be equilateral or one of the angles may be very acute. Although the possibilities of triangle combinations are almost innumerable the different forms can be readily recognized. The dot is a common form of decoration, and parallel lines also are much used. Many bowls are decorated with hachure, and with line ornaments mostly rectilinear.
The volute plays a part, although not a conspicuous one, in Spruce-tree House pottery decoration. Simple volutes are of two kinds, one in which the figure-coils follow the direction of the hands of the clock (dextral); the other, in which they take an opposite direction (sinistral). The outer end of the volute may terminate in a triangle or other figure, which may be notched, serrated, or otherwise modified. A compound sinistral volute is one which is sinistral until it reaches the center, when it turns into a dextral volute extending to the periphery. The compound dextral volute is exactly the reverse of the last-mentioned, starting as dextral and ending as sinistral. If, as frequently happens, there is a break in the lines at the middle, the figure may be called a broken compound volute. Two volutes having different axes are known as a composite volute, sinistral or dextral as the case may be.
The meander (fig. 10) is also important in Spruce-tree House or Mesa Verde pottery decoration. The form of meander homologous to the volute may be classified in the same terms as the volute, into (1) simple sinistral meander; (2) simple dextral meander; (3) compound sinistral meander; (4) compound dextral meander; and (5) composite meander. These meanders, like the volutes, may be accompanied by parallel lines or by rows of dots enlarged, serrated, notched, or otherwise modified.
In some beautiful specimens a form of hachure, or combination of many parallel lines with spirals and meanders, is introduced in a very effective way. This kind of decoration is very rare on old Hopi (Sikyatki) pottery, but is common on late Zuñi and Hano ceramics, both of which are probably derived from the Rio Grande region.
Lines, straight or zigzag, constitute important elements in Spruce-tree House pottery decoration. These may be either parallel, or crossed so as to form reticulated areas.
Along these lines rows of dots or of triangular enlargements may be introduced. The latter may be simply serrations, dentations, or triangles of considerable size, sometimes bent over, resembling pointed bands.
Curved figures are rarely used, but such as are found are characteristic. Concentric rings, with or without central dots, are not uncommon.
Rectangles apparently follow the same general rules as circles, and are also sometimes simple, with or without central dots.
The triangle is much more common as a decorative motive than the circle or the rectangle, variety being brought about by the difference in length of the sides. The hourglass formed by two triangles with one angle of each united is common. The quail’s-head design, or triangle having two parallel marks on an extension at one angle, is not as common as on Little Colorado pottery and that from the Gila valley.
As in all ceramics from the San Juan area, the stepped figures are most abundant. There are two types of stepped figures, the sinistral and the dextral, according as the steps pass from left to right or vice versa. The color of the two stepped figures may be black, or one or both may have secondary ornamentation in forms of hachure or network. One may be solid black, the other filled in with lines.
In addition to the above-mentioned geometrical figures, the S-shaped design is common; when doubled, this forms the cross called swastika. The S figure is of course generally curved but may be angular, in which case the cross is more evident. One bowl has the S figure on the outside. All of the above-mentioned designs admit of variations and two or more are often combined in Spruce-tree House pottery, which is practically the same in type as that of the whole Mesa Verde region.
While it is yet too early in our study of prehistoric pueblo culture to make or define subcultural areas, it is possible to recognize provisionally certain areas having features in common, which differ from other areas.[25] It has already been shown that the form of the subterranean ceremonial room can be used as a basis of classification. If pottery symbols are taken as the basis, it will be found that there are at least two great subsections in the pueblo country coinciding with the two divisions recognized as the result of study of the form of sacred rooms—the northeastern and the southwestern region or, for brevity, the northern and the southern area. In the former region lie, besides the Mesa Verde and the San Juan valley, Chaco and Chelly canyons; in the latter, the ruins of “great houses” along the Gila and Salt rivers.
From these two centers radiated in ancient times two types of pottery symbols expressive of two distinct cultures, each ceremonially distinct and, architecturally speaking, characteristic. The line of junction of the influences of these two subcultural areas practically follows the Little Colorado river, the valley of which is the site of a third ceramic subculture area; this is mixed, being related on one side to the northern, on the other to the southern, region. The course of this river and its tributaries has determined a trail of migration, which in turn has spread this intermingled ceramic art far and wide. The geographical features of the Little Colorado basin have prevented the evolution of characteristic ceramic culture in any part of the region.
Using color and symbolism of pottery as a basis of classification, the author has provisionally divided the sedentary people of the Southwest into the following divisions, or has recognized the following ceramic areas: (1) Hopi area, including the wonderful ware of Sikyatki, Awatobi, and the ruins on Antelope mesa, at old Mishongnovi, Shumopavi and neighboring ruins; (2) Casa Grande area; (3) San Juan area, including Mesa Verde, Chaco canyon, Chelly canyon as far west as St. George, Utah, and Navaho mountain, Arizona; (4) Little Colorado area, including Zuñi. The pottery of Casas Grandes in Chihuahua is allied in colors but not in symbols to old Hopi ware. So little is known of the old Piros ceramics and of the pottery from all ruins east of the Rio Grande, that they are not yet classified. The ceramics from the region west of the Rio Grande are related to the San Juan and Chaco areas.
The Spruce-tree House pottery belongs to the San Juan area, having some resemblance and relationship to that from the lower course of the Little Colorado. It is markedly different from the pottery of the Hopi area and has only the most distant resemblance to that from Casas Grandes.[26]
The Hopi area is well distinguished by specialized symbols which are not duplicated elsewhere in the pueblo area. Among these may be mentioned the symbol for the feather, and a band representing the sky with design of a mythic bird attached. As almost all pueblo symbols, ancient and modern, are represented on old Hopi ware, and in addition other designs peculiar to it, the logical conclusion is that these Hopi symbols are specialized in origin.
The evolution of a ceramic area in the neighborhood of the modern Hopi mesas is due to special causes, and points to a long residence in that locality. It would seem from traditions that the earliest Hopi people came from the east, and that the development of a purely Hopi ceramic culture in the region now occupied by this people took place before any great change due to southern immigration had occurred. The entrance of Patki and other clans from the south strongly affected the old Hopi culture, which was purest in Sikyatki, but even there it remained distinctive. The advent of the eastern clans in large numbers after the great rebellion in 1680, especially of the Tanoan families about 1710, radically changed the symbolism, making modern Hopi ware completely eastern in this respect. The old symbolism, the germ of which was eastern, as shown by the characters employed, almost completely vanished, being replaced by an introduced symbolism.
In order scientifically to appreciate the bearing on the migration of clans, of symbolism on pottery, we must bear in mind that a radical difference in such symbolism as has taken place at the Hopi villages may have occurred elsewhere as well, although there is no evidence of a change of this kind having occurred at Spruce-tree House.
The author includes under Hopi ware that found at the Hopi ruins Sikyatki, Shumopavi, and Awatobi, the collection from the first-named being typical. Some confusion has been introduced by others into the study of old Hopi ware by including in it, under the name “Tusayan pottery,” the white-and-black ware of the Chelly canyon.[27] There is a close resemblance between the pottery of Chelly canyon and that of Mesa Verde, but only the most distant relationship between true Hopi ware and that of Chelly canyon. The latter belong in fact to two distinct areas, and differ in color, symbolism, and general characters. In so far as the Hopi ware shares its symbolism with the other geographical areas of the eastern region, to the same extent there is kinship in culture. In more distant ruins the pottery contains a greater admixture of symbols foreign to Mesa Verde. These differences are due no doubt to incorporation of other clans.
The subceramic area in which the Mesa Verde ruins lie embraces the valleys of the San Juan and its tributaries, Chelly canyon, Chaco canyon, and probably the ruins along the Rio Grande, on both sides of the river. Whether the Chaco or the Mesa Verde region is the geographical center of this subarea, or not, can not be determined, but the indications are that the Mesa Verde is on its northern border. Along the southwestern and western borders the culture of this area mingles with that of the subcultural area adjoining on the south, the resultant symbolism being consequently more complex. The ceramic ware of ruins of the Mesa Verde is little affected by outside and diverse influences, while, on the contrary, similar ware found along the western and southern borders of the subcultural area has been much modified by the influence of the neighboring region.
Although the decoration on pottery from Spruce-tree House embraces some symbols in common with that of the ruins along the Little Colorado, including prehistoric Zuñi, there is evidence of a mingling of the two ceramic types which is believed to have originated in the Gila basin. The resemblance in the pottery of these regions is greater near the sources of the Little Colorado, differences increasing as one descends the river. At Homolobi (near Winslow) and Chevlon, where the pottery is half northern and half southern in type, these differences have almost disappeared.
This is what might be expected theoretically, and is in accordance with legends of the Hopi, for the Little Colorado ruins are more modern than the round-kiva culture of Chaco canyon and Mesa Verde, and than the square-ceremonial-house culture of the Gila. The indications are that symbolism of the Little Colorado ruins is a composite, representative in about equal proportions of the two subcultures of the Southwest.[28]
As confirmatory of this suggested dual origin we find that the symbolism of pottery from ruins near the source of the Little Colorado is identical with that of the Salt, the Verde, and the Tonto basins, from which their inhabitants originally came in larger numbers than from the Rio Grande. In the ruins of the upper Salt and Gila the pottery is more like that of the neighboring sources of the Little Colorado because of interchanges. On the other hand, the ancient Hopi, being more isolated than other Pueblos, especially those on the Little Colorado, developed a ceramic art peculiar to themselves. Their pottery is different from that of the Little Colorado, the upper Gila and its tributary, the Salt, and the San Juan including the Mesa Verde.
The Zuñi valley, lying practically in the pathway of culture migration or about midway between the northern and southern subceramic areas, had no distinctive ancient pottery. Its ancient pottery is not greatly unlike that of Homolobi near Winslow but has been influenced about equally by the northern and the southern type. Whatever originality in culture symbols developed in the Zuñi valley was immediately merged with others and spread over a large area.[29]
While there are several subdivisions in the eastern subcultural area, that in which the Mesa Verde ruins are situated is distinctive. The area embraces the ruins in the Montezuma valley and those of Chelly canyon, and the San Juan ruins as far as Navaho mountain, including also the Chaco and the Canyon Largo ruins. Probably the pottery of some of the ruins east of the Rio Grande will be found to belong to the same type. That of the Hopi ceramic area, the so-called “Tusayan,” exclusive of Chelly canyon, is distinct from all others. The pottery of the Gila subculture area is likewise distinctive but its influence made its way up the Verde and the Tonto and was potent across the mountains, in the Little Colorado basin. Its influence is likewise strong in the White Mountain ruins and on the Tularosa, and around the sources of the Gila and Salt rivers.
An examination of the decoration of pottery from Spruce-tree House fails to reveal a single specimen with the well-known broken encircling line called “the line of life.” As this feature is absent from pottery from all the Mesa Verde ruins it may be said provisionally that the ancient potters of this region were unfamiliar with it.
This apparently insignificant characteristic is present, however, in all the pottery directly influenced by the culture of the southwestern subceramic area. It occurs in pottery from the Gila and the Salt River ruins, in the Hopi area, and along the Little Colorado, including the Zuñi valley, and elsewhere. Until recorded from the northeastern subceramic area, “the line of life” may be considered a peculiarity of ceramics of the Gila subarea or of the pottery influenced by its culture.
Among the restored food bowls from Spruce-tree House, having characteristic symbols, may be mentioned that represented in plate 16, d, d′, which has on the interior surface a triangular design with curved appendages to each angle. The triangular arrangement of designs on the interior surface of food bowls is not uncommon in the Mesa Verde pottery.
Another food bowl has two unusual designs on the interior surface, as shown in plate 18, c, c′. The meaning of this rare symbolism is unknown.
In plates 16-19 are represented some of the most characteristic symbols on the restored pottery.
The outer surfaces of many food bowls are elaborately decorated with designs as shown, while the rims in most cases are dotted.
Stone implements from Spruce-tree House include axes, mauls, stone hammers, and grinding stones, in addition to other objects of unknown uses. As a rule these stone implements are rudely made, although some of them are as fine as any known from the Southwest. It is but natural that these implements should have been manufactured from more compact and harder rock than that of which the walls of the buildings were constructed. Apparently these objects were not picked up in the neighborhood but brought to the site of the ruin from a great distance.
The author collected several stone axes (pl. 21 and fig. 11) from Spruce-tree House, some of which (a-f) are fine specimens. These are all of the same general type, sharpened at one end and blunt at the opposite end, with a groove midway for attachment of the handle. In no case is there a ridge bordering this groove which in one specimen (pl. 21, g) is partially duplicated.
One ax has a cutting edge at each end, while another (fig. 12) has the handle still attached, recalling the two specimens figured by Nordenskiöld.
Among the objects of stone taken from Spruce-tree House are several similar to those called by the Hopi tcamahias (pl. 21, h). These implements are as a rule long, with smooth surfaces; they are sharpened at one end and pointed at the opposite end. Generally they have no groove for the attachment of a handle; in one instance, however, there is an indentation on opposite borders. The use of these objects is unknown; they may have been axes or planting implements.
Stone objects of precisely the same type are highly prized by the Hopi and play important parts in their ceremonials. A number of these objects are arranged about the sand picture of the Antelope altar in the Snake dance at Walpi.[30]
Similar specimens are attached by the Hopi to their most sacred palladium, called the tiponi, or badge of office of the chief of a priesthood. The tiponi of the Antelope society has one of these projecting from its top. The meaning of this association may be even greater than at first would be suspected, for according to legends the Snake family, which is the guardian of the fetishes used in the snake ceremonies, originally lived at Tokonabi, near Navaho mountain, at the mouth of the San Juan river. The culture of the ancient inhabitants of the ruins at that place was not very different from that of the people of the Mesa Verde.
Both pestles and hand stones used in grinding maize were excavated, the latter in considerable numbers. There were found also many stone slabs having rounded depressions, or pits, on opposite sides, evidently similar to those now used by the Hopi in grinding the paints for their ceremonials. In some places peckings or grooves in the surfaces of the rocks show where these grinding stones were used, and perhaps flattened to the desired plane. These grinding places are found in the plazas, on the sides of the cave back of the village, and elsewhere. A number of these grooves in a lower ledge of rock at the spring indicate that this was a favorite spot for shaping the hand grinders, possibly for grinding corn or other seeds.
The hand stones are of several types: (1) Polygonal, having corners somewhat worn, but flat on both sides, and having grooves on opposite edges to insure a firm hold for the hand; (2) convex on one face and flat on the opposite; (3) having two faces on each side, separated by a sharp ridge. The third type represents apparently the last stage in the life of a grinding stone the surfaces of which have been worn to this shape by constant use.
Several flat stones, each having a slight depression on one side, were found to be covered with pigments of various colors, which were ground on their surfaces by means of conical stones, as shown in figure 13. Two rectangular flat stones (pl. 21, i, j) with finely polished surfaces and rounded edges have a notch on the rim. Their use is unknown. Nordenskiöld refers to similar stones as “moccasin lasts,” but there seems no valid reason thus to identify these objects except that they have the general form—although larger—of the sole of the foot. The Spruce-tree House aborigines wore sandals and had no need for lasts. Moreover, so far as known, the Pueblo Indians never made use of an object of this kind in fashioning their moccasins.
In the course of the excavations a large number of stones having pits in the sides were exhumed, but these are so heavy that they were not sent to Washington. Several of these stones are cubical in form and have lateral pits, one on each of four faces. Some are thick, while others are thin and sharpened at the end like an ax. These stones are probably the mauls with which the masons dressed the rocks used in the construction of the buildings. With such mauls the surfaces of the floors of some ceremonial rooms were cut down several inches below the original level. Some of the pounding stones resemble in a measure the grinding stones, but in them pits replace grooves commonly found in the edge of the latter.
Corn was usually ground on flat stones called metates which were found in considerable numbers. These metates commonly show wear on one or both surfaces, and a few specimens have a ridge on each border resulting from the wearing down of the middle of the stone.
Among the objects from the ruins of Mesa Verde figured by Nordenskiöld is one designated a “cylinder of polished hematite, perhaps a fetish.” Another stone cylinder closely resembling this was found by the present author at Spruce-tree House. This object closely resembles a bead, but as the author has seen similar stones used on Hopi altars, especially on the altar to the cardinal points, he is inclined to accept the identification suggested by Nordenskiöld. On altars to the cardinal points small stones of different shapes and colors are arranged near ears of corn surrounding a medicine bowl. As black is the symbolic color of the underworld, a stone of this color is found on the black ear of corn representing the nadir. If this cylinder is a fetish it may have been somewhat similarly used.
Not a single entire basket was found, although a few fragments of baskets made of woven rushes or osiers were obtained (fig. 14). It would appear, however, from a fine basket figured by Nordenskiöld, which he ascribes to Spruce-tree House and from other known specimens, figured and unfigured, that the Mesa Verde people were skillful basket makers. None of the fragments obtained by the author, and the same holds true regarding the basket figured by Nordenskiöld, are decorated.
Few objects made of wood were obtained at Spruce-tree House, but those which were found are well made and reveal the existence of interesting aboriginal customs. Wooden objects closely resembling some of these were used until a few years ago by the Hopi and other Pueblo tribes.
Among the wooden objects found are many perforated sticks tied together by strings. This specimen (fig. 15) is not complete, but enough remains to show that it is not unlike the covering in which the Hopi bride rolls her wedding blankets. From the place where the object was found, it appears that the dead were wrapped in coverings of this kind. Although the specimen is much damaged, it is not difficult to make out from the remaining fragment the mode of construction of the object.