Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 134, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 June 1911 — WOULD PRESERVE NAVAHO HOME [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WOULD PRESERVE NAVAHO HOME

IMPORTANT recommendations to the Smithsonian Institution aremade by Jesse Walter Fewkes regarding the treatment of the national reserve created in northern Arizona by order of former President Roosqvelt under the name of the Navaho National Monument, in which many Important prehistoric ruins are to be found. Dr. Fewkes was sent by the bureau of American ethnology to examine these dwellings of the ancients, and his preliminary report, which is now being published, suggests: _.-«4-7, That one of the largest two cliff dwellings in the Navaho National Monument, either Betatakin or Kitsiel, be excavated, repaired and preserved as a “type ruin” to illustrate the prehistoric culture of the aborigines of this section of Arizona. That this work be supplemented by excavation and repair of Inscription House, an _ ancient cliff dwelling in West Canyon. That one or more of the ruins in West Canyon be added to the Navaho National Monument and be permanently protected by the government. Dr. Fewkes describes In detail the three routes by which the cliff dwellings may be reached, tells where water may be had for men and horses and outlines improvements that would make the road more passable for tourists.

Find an Instructive Specimen.

One of the most Instructive specimens collected in the Navaho National Monument was found by W. B. Douglas in a ruin designated as Cradle House. This object is a cradle made of basketware, open at one end and continued at the opposite end into a biped extension to serve for the legs. It Is decorated on the outside with an archatic geometric, ornamentation. This specimen may be regarded as one of the finest examples of prehistoric basketry from the southwest; moreover, with one exception, It is the only known cradle of this form. A pair of Infant’s sandals found with the cradle leaves no doubt as to its use, while the character and symbolism of the decoration refer it to the ancient cliffhouse culture. The design suggests that which characterizes certain specimens of the well-known black-and-white pottery found in the Ban Juan drainage. Evidences of long use and repair appear, especially on one side. Unfortunately the specimen, although entire when found, later was broken across its middle.

The only other known cradle of this type was brought to the attention of ethnologists by Ur. W. J. McGee when In charge of the anthropological exhibit at the St. Louis exposition. Thig was found in San Juan county, Utah. "The Navaho Natlbnal Monument," writes Dr. Fewkes, "contains two kinds of ruins, cliff dwellings and pueblos. The architecture of the cliff dwellings is characteristic, their walls being constructed of stone or adobe built against, rarely free from, vertlcal faces of the cliff. Two Types of Kivas. “There are two types of kivas, one circular and subterranean, allied to those of the Mesa Verde; the other rectangular, above ground, entered from the sides. "The masonry of these northern ruins is rude, resembling that of modern Walpi. The component stones are neither-dressed nor smoothed, but the walls are sometimes plastered. There ts a great similarity in architecture. No round towers relieve the monotony or impart picturesqueness to the buildings. The walls of ruined pueblos In this region and the ceramic remains closely resemble those at Black Falls, on the Little Colorado. A prominent feature of the walls is a jacal construction In which mud is plastered on wattling between upright poles. The ends of many of these supports project high above the ground, constituting a characteristic feature of the ruins. This method of wall construction is unknown at Black Falls or at Walpi, but still survives in modified form in one or more Oralbl kivas and In one at least of the Mesa Verde ruins. "Naturally the questions one asks in regard to these ruins are: Why did Inhabitants build these cllffb? Who were the ancient Inhabitants ? When were these dwellings inhabited and deserted? > ' ■■■''> . "V .. . \

“It is commonly believed that ths caves were chosen for habitation because they could be better defended than villages in the open. Ths ancients chose this region for their homes on account of the constant w* ter supply in the creek and the patches of land in the valley that could be cultivated. This was a desirable place for their farms. Had there been no caves in the cliffs they would probably have built habitations in the open plain below. May Have Been Harassed. “They may have been harassed by marauders, but it must be borne in mind that their enemies did not come in great numbers at any one time. Defense was not the primary motive that led the sedentary people of this canyon to utilize the caverns for shelter. Again, the inroads of enemies never led to the abandonment of these great cliffhouses, if we can impute valor in any appreciable degree to the inhabitants. Fancy, for Instance, the difficulty, or, rather, improbability, of a number of nomadic warriors great enough to drive out the population of Kltsiel, making their way up Cataract canyon and besieging the pueblo. Such an approach would have been impossible. Marauders might have raided the. Kltsiel cornfields, but they could not have dislodged the inhabitants. “Even if they had succeeded in capturing one house, but little would have been gained, as it was a custom of the Pueblos to keep enough food in store to last more than a year. In this connection the question is pertinent. While hcmtiles were besieging Kitsiel how could they subsist during any length of time? Only with the utmost difficulty, even with aid of ropes and ladders, can one now gain access to some of these ruins. How could marauding parties have entered them if the inhabitants were hostile? The cliff dwellings were constructed partly for defense, but mainly for the shelter afforded by the overhanging cliff, and the cause of their desertion was not due so much to predatory enemies as failure of crops or the disappearance of the water supply. “The writer does not regard these ruins as of great antiquity; some of the evidence indicates that they are of later time. Features in their architecture show resemblances derived from other regions.

Ruins Not of Great Antiquity. “The Navahoes ascribe the buildings to ancient people and say that the ruined houses existed before their own advent In the country, but this was not necessarily long ago. Such evidence as has been gathered supports Hopl legends that the Inhabitants were ancient Hopl, belonging to the Flute, Horn and Snake families. “There Is no evidence that diffhouse architecture developed In these canyons, and rude structures older than these have been found in this region. Whoever the builders of these structures were, they brought their craft with them. The adoption of the deflector In the rectangular ceremo-nial-rooms called kihus implies the derivation of these rooms from circular klvas, and all Indications are that the ancient Inhabitants came from higher up Skn Juan river. "Many of the ruins in Canyon de Chelly, situated east of Laguna creek, show marked evidence of being modern, and they In turn are not so old as those of the Mesa Verde. If the ruins become older as we go up the river the conclusion is logical that the migration of the San Juan culture was down the river from east to west, rather than in the opposite direction. The scanty traditions known to the author support the belief in a migration from east to west, although there were exceptional instances of clan movements In the opposite direction. The general trend of migration would indicate that the ancestral home of the Snake and Flute peopla waa In Colorado and New Mexico.”