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Show CLIFF DWELLERS' HiEUiQ'eEO Ancient Center of Commerce and Trade Revealed in New Mexico Ruins SANTA FE. N. M., Feb. 12. When Europe was plunging through the terrors ter-rors of the middle ages and alom; about the time Attllla. the Hun, vu ravaging the civilization of Rome, another an-other civilization of a different type was in a fairly well perfected state in western North America Tho center 'of this civilization as well as center of trade and commerce was Pecos, N. M., about twenty-five miles east of Santa Fe. This wa determined definitely, according ac-cording to Dr. A. V. Kidder, by excavations exca-vations conducted by himself and assistants as-sistants last summer. Dr Kidder was aided by Dr. E. A. Hooton, a special 1st in physical anthropology and Dr, Carl E. Guthe, who had Just returned from his exploration, among iho Mayos in Central America. GRAVES OPENED. The scientists opened more than 300 graves and examined some 1000 skeletons skele-tons Homes had been built upon ruins of previous habitations and the bod les of the dead burled ln the ruins had Increased to such an extent that the Indians of Pecos, some eighty years ago, deserted their thousand year old city and moved to Jemez because the waters had become contaminated. Cliff dwellings of a thousand rooms, well preserved specimens of the past civilisation and unusual examples of early day pottery and household utensils uten-sils were recovered, according to the report on the excavations recently made public. Castenada. the chronicler of Coro-nado's Coro-nado's explorations 38(1 years ago, mentions but one pueblo tit Peeos, obviously the north house. Excavations Excava-tions last summer showed that there had been a pueblo at an early period, on the site of tho south house, which had been abandoned and reduced to a mere heap of ruins before the coming of the Spaniards. In the i-nterlor of the mound thero was uncovered one ground floor chamber in excellent preservation. Its roof was almost in tact; from the beams 6til! hung the bark loops that had been used to suspend sus-pend goods of the owners and on one umoke-blackencd log are a series of handprints, large and small, slapped on ln whitewash. TREASURE HOUSE FOUND. To explore the extensive north house which originally must have had more than a thousand rboms, and walls of which still stand almost three stories stor-ies high, trencheB were started simultaneously simul-taneously at the east entrance and the west edge of tho mesa. Tho western trench was run along bedrock nnd aft er passing through burials four feet deep, encountered the foundation walls of an early building, the presence of which had not been suspected This was cut through and the trench struck a large oval pit which proved lo bo a treasure house fifteen feet dep. ten feet wide pml twenty feet long, built In a natural ercvlce in the mesa. About Its edge was a neatly made coping wall two feet high and It resembled somewhat some-what the cenotes at Chlchen Itza and elsewhere In the Maya field ln Yucatan. Yuca-tan. The cistern yielded an unusual ly full and unmixed collection of artifacts ar-tifacts and pottery from the earliest times to the l'ajanlan or Fourth Glaze period When the cistern was cleared It was bridged over and the trench, was continued. Another zone of skeletons skele-tons was discovered and some of the best pottery thus far found was taken I mm the graves. INTERESTING REVELATIONS. In another trench ruins were en-I en-I countered similar to those of the prehistoric pre-historic walls of the palace of gover-; gover-; nors at Santa Fe, built long before I the coming of the Spaniards. The similarity simi-larity was traced to the ruins upon ; which the Santa Fe structure had been constructed and which had been built by Ornate or his successor in 1608". Other trenches revealed a large series se-ries of cooking Jars, painted oilas and one nest of ceremonial pots wedged between rocks and yet quite undam-aceil. undam-aceil. With these were many handsome hand-some shell ornaments, two sets of bone flutes, two very large tobacco I pipes, one of them elaborately carved, i thirty six buffalo horns, part of a wooden lance headdress and many other specimens. In one place were found two underground under-ground kivas or ceremonial ham ! bers. Both were built in the earliest time, about the beginning of the Chris j tlan era. one of them later serving as ' a burial place. By careful observation of the stratified strati-fied fillings ln the lower part of the rooms, co-ordinated with an Intensive study of the successive increments of masonry lhat had gone into their construction, con-struction, Dr. Guthe had been able to work out and record by plans and elevations ele-vations the exact history of the growth of this section of the pueblo i from the foundation of the town, per- h..p: : years ago down to the tune of its abandonment about eighty years ago. Pecos apparently Is the longest continuously lnhabled city of the American continent. The museum of New Mexico owns j the site excavated. |