Show SOME OX ON THE E LODGE S of 01 0 CULTURE IN UI T III BISES B ISM UTAH by albert B reagan ph D copied from EL PALACIO issue of may 20 1931 the original is illustrated by a map showing locations of the various groups mentioned and by two large photos of in that vicinity I 1 This last summer the writer was e m pa d by Y the laboratory of an ba thront t 1 if iro i y at t santa fe new mexico ng photographs of ancient in dil dun ln writing in ashley valley utah while thus employed he also came across several earth lodge sites numbered below as follows I 1 this earth lodge site Is on the east side of river near mrs daniels place about seven milpa mil north of port fort duchesne and twenty two miles west of vernal utah it is situated on a bench overlooking tho river and the dja valley the site was fine a i dir ir er resident tor for it was on ngi f I 1 und above the low infested mosquito areas the besides being adjacent to the then farm lands it extending about one hundred va ya ds in an ea and west direction and fifty yard n a north and south line we counted twenty houses in this larea area all apparently being of the truncated cone circular conjectural ly IY somewhat of the navaho hogan type none of which exceed sixteen feet in dian eter the utes found in this region northeastern utah by the whites were not an earth lodge building people the base of each lodge seemed to 0 o have been built part ly IY of cobbles above this in most cases there seems to have been a plastered over wattle work the mud often having been daubed over it to a tl ti bickness of tour four or more inches the roots roofs seem to have been flat and similarly made solid wall were also seen the villager village was de strayed by tire fire as the mud earth walls h ve all been burned to the oon con sis tency of 0 brick leaving imprints of twig twigs brush and poles on the brick I 1 like clay the mound that now marks the site of each domicile Is due to fallen burned clay walls and root roof these dwellings were evidently very similar to fhe he earth lodges about willard utah that were recently described by dr neil nell 11 judd a photo Is shown in the original tak en from bulletin 82 of the bureau of american ethnology of the smith conlan institution and probably were made by the f same ame or a similar people As the village was destroy ed by fire it would seem that it was overwhelmed by an enemy some one has recently excavate d several of these mounds we also maae test trenches through several of them in both a north and south and in an east and west direction each of two feet in width we dis covered is ta well defined earthen floor at a depth of about three feet at the center of the heap in each case and the excavating that had been done by others showed a similar floor at a like depth in each house that was dug into the surface of this floor in each instance was hard blackened and smooth in the mid die dle of each floor there wag was a cincu lar fireplace which was filled v ith charcoal and wood ashes over wh ch was blown sand we however found no remains of charred poles or of roof support posts as dr judd reports having found at will ard our test trenching and that previously done seemed to show that the artifacts are within the house enclosures being confined in the main to milling and hammer stories arrow shaft smoothers an occa occasional lonal arrow point a few pot tery ferments fr ments and now and then a rubbing stone or a bone awl on 01 the other hand quite a number of smoothed undecorated gray potter y fragments were obtained about the village site and a few were obtain cd ed in the stone pile region soon to be mentioned one sherd showing a lec decoration oration pj pf raised 0 s near its margin one half mile southeastward from the village site there are several roch mounds scattered over a wide area and extending strung out like to the village site itself whether they are the remains of small cincu lar houses circular sweat houses shrines or just stone piles where ar row and stone knife chip clippings pings were carried on was not determined there were probably fifty of these cobble stone piles in this section 2 earth lodge site 2 miles east of white rock postoffice Post ottice office 3 this site on devil devils s hill 4 this site on mr william gib sion s land south of the rock point irrigation canal north of vernal 5 on wm win oaks moser s farm north of vernal 6 on alma farm 1 miles north of vernal 7 on mr henry M kurtz farms about 12 miles east of vernal mr kurtz had made quite a collection of artifacts from this site among which were twenty five arrow points all of large size a drill one pestle an indian hammer a gaming ball and a man s skull which showed the characteristic pueblo indian cradle board oar f flattening atten ng at the back a 8 remains of three groups of earth lodges were seen in cultivate ed I 1 fields about I 2 miles mile below the caver cave en on mr henry boan s place 6 milea south of mr kurtz place 9 on mr curley evans farm 1 j below no 8 10 this site on mr W R riley s ranch on brush creek near jensen the whole ranch was an inhabitation of early race of peo pie as ia Is shown by the crumbling traces of earth lodge se so ol 01 tl ti at distant time numerous arrow heads and other artifacts now mark the site while small charred corn cobs are occasionally brought to the surface by burrowing prairie dogs 11 on the nutter ranch and at several other places in nine mile cannota 37 miles southwest ot of my ton 67 miles southwest ot of vernal prom from all appearances the earth lodge villages here were not greatly unlike the earth lodges ot of the plains pl ins indians the pawnee and the oma haa has without the ves vestibule tible they al so much resemble certain california earth and also navaho ho gan of the present time they are alsa alsol similar to the ancient earth ledges lodges found at beaver deaver willard and rara gonah in utah by judd and ae a e also close ot of the A type of dwellings ot of pueblo I 1 ho as found in the piedra dla ds brict in southwestern colorado by roberts and the writer conse they must be considered aa as structures it also might be added that dr roberta roberts estimates that the piedra villages were innab stated about the beginning of the christian era and as the lodges here show a less cultural develop ment it would seem reasonable to place their date of habitation back about to the time that alexander was strangling at persia it should also be added that these pueblo peo pie probably were driven out of this region by the ute in deans 9 who still held the land when the white men came A note says we also took photographs of ancient indian groups which show tour four somewhat success ive stages of ancient culture bas ket maker a people who made circular bodied drawings of human beings probably patterning their woven water jugs and after t the a their woven water pugs and after the round facea faces of the sun and moon and a head hunting people who made square shouldered drawings of human beings depicting themselves time upon time as return eing from battle with captive pueblo women and children atod and the heads of the pueblo braves who dared defend theu homes the writings also seem to show that the last two groups had some customs that were like those ot of the southern california Shosho the color of soil usually furnishes a clue as to the presence or lack of desirable things in it A black soil Is usually a rich soil as the bladh black color Is usually organic matter in combination with lime time organic mateer also colors a soil brown hed red indicates iron oxide red or reddish brown soils are rated big hig agrical aurally white soils lare are usually poor white or light colored soils usually indicate lack ot of important constituents very light colored soils are often sandy and do not contain enough clay to make them good for plant life and to retain water soil must have humus in it to be of value and to 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