RECENT ARCHEOLOGIC FIND IN ARIZONA.

BY JAMES MOONEY.

Early in February of this year some Navajo Indians brought to Mr. T. V. Keam, the trader at Keam's Cañon, on the Hopi (Moki) reservation in northern Arizona, several specimens of antique pottery, which they said they had found while digging for water at a point about five miles south of the trading post. Mr. Keam, as is well known, takes a deep interest in the archeology and ethnology of this section, and told the Indians to go on with the work and bring him whatever they might find. As a result, in the course of a week's digging they have unearthed about two hundred specimens of prehistoric pottery in good condition, while probably as many more have been broken in the process. This makes it the largest archeologic find in the history of this section, the next in importance as regards quantity being the cave deposit, consisting of about one hundred and sixty pieces, discovered north of St. John's about six years ago, and now in possession of Mr. Lorenzo Hubbell, of that place.

On Sunday, February 12, in company with Mr. Keam, I rode over to the spot where the discovery had been made. It is in a rincon or side cañon, walled in by steep cliffs perhaps 150 feet in height. Toward the south the cañon opens out into an extensive valley occupied by several families of Navajos with their herds of sheep and goats. At the north end of the cañon several springs ooze up through the rocks and sand drifts, and it was in excavating one of these that the discovery was made. Several springs have now been dug out, but pottery has been found only at one. On climbing the steep ascent to the top of the mesa we find the remains of the ancient pueblo overlooking the valley on the east. It must have been an extensive settlement in its day, as large as any of the existing Hopi villages, as the ruins cover an area of perhaps four acres, and the whole neighborhood is thickly strewn with fragments of stamped and painted pottery and flakes of flint and obsidian. The foundations of the walls are still well preserved, so that the outlines of the rooms can be distinctly traced, and by digging out the accumulated sand and débris it is probable that nearly the whole ground-plan might be restored. At the foot of the cliff, toward the

south, traces of burnt clay and charcoal show where the pottery was made, and the steps cut into the rock by which the ancient inhabitants descended to the spring are still plainly visible.

Several of the Indians were at work digging while we were there. They had excavated the principal spring, where the pottery had been found, down to bed clay, and had thrown the loosened sand out at the top. The instruments used were their hands and two long-handled shovels. The ground all around was strewn with fragments of pottery thrown out, and numerous other fragments were imbedded in the sand. It was evident that probably half the original number, including the largest specimens, had been destroyed in the digging process. By working in from the side, instead of from above, and proceeding carefully to remove the sand with the hands and some such small tool as a knife or a stick, probably three hundred or more pieces might have been taken out intact. Most of those preserved were small, finely decorated with designs in black and reddish brown, and of most unique shapes. Some consisted of three or four small bowls set together upon a common bottom, somewhat like a muffin stand. Some bowls were fashioned to represent birds, having projections standing out from the rim for head, tail, and wings. Some few had handles above like diminutive baskets; some bore a slight resemblance in form to a shoe, having the opening at one end some were of cuspidor form, and others were patterned after gourds and spoons. A few had stamped patterns upon the outside, but most were smooth, and whitish or cream-colored, with the painted designs before mentioned (see plate).

The Navajo name of these springs is To-alchin'di, “little water.” The Hopi name is Chak-pa'hu, having the same meaning. According to the statement given to Mr. Keam by the Hopi, who have occupied this region from time immemorial, the ruined pueblo, which they call Kawaíka, was formerly occupied by the Indians now occupying Laguna pueblo, west of the Rio Grande. They state also that their ancestors used to deposit jars and bowls near springs as votive offerings to the water gods. This would account for the fact that the vessels were all found close together by the principal spring, and appear from their size and shape to have been intended for religious rather than practical purposes. The custom of making offerings at springs to the water deities is common to all primitive tribes, and among the Arapahos and Cheyennes I have myself seen shawls and strips of calico hung up as sacrifices upon the bushes about every little watering place in the vicinity of a regular camp.

south, traces of burnt clay and charcoal show where the pottery was made, and the steps cut into the rock by which the ancient inhabitants descended to the spring are still plainly visible.

Several of the Indians were at work digging while we were there. They had excavated the principal spring, where the pottery had been found, down to bed clay, and had thrown the loosened sand out at the top. The instruments used were their hands and two long-handled shovels. The ground all around was strewn with fragments of pottery thrown out, and numerous other fragments were imbedded in the sand. It was evident that probably half the original number, including the largest specimens, had been destroyed in the digging process. By working in from the side, instead of from above, and proceeding carefully to remove the sand with the hands and some such small tool as a knife or a stick, probably three hundred or more pieces might have been taken out intact. Most of those preserved were small, finely decorated with designs in black and reddish brown, and of most unique shapes. Some consisted of three or four small bowls set together upon a common bottom, somewhat like a muffin stand. Some bowls were fashioned to represent birds, having projections standing out from the rim for head, tail, and wings. Some few had handles above like diminutive baskets; some bore a slight resemblance in form to a shoe, having the opening at one end some were of cuspidor form, and others were patterned after gourds and spoons. A few had stamped patterns upon the outside, but most were smooth, and whitish or cream-colored, with the painted designs before mentioned (see plate).

The Navajo name of these springs is To-alchin'di, "little water." The Hopi name is Chak-pa'hu, having the same meaning. According to the statement given to Mr. Keam by the Hopi, who have occupied this region from time immemorial, the ruined pueblo, which they call Kawaíka, was formerly occupied by the Indians now occupying Laguna pueblo, west of the Rio Grande. They state also that their ancestors used to deposit jars and bowls near springs as votive offerings to the water gods. This would account for the fact that the vessels were all found close together by the principal spring, and appear from their size and shape to have been intended for religious rather than practical purposes. The custom of making offerings at springs to the water deities is common to all primitive tribes, and among the Arapahos and Cheyennes I have myself seen shawls and strips of calico hung up as sacrifices upon the bushes about every little watering place in the vicinity of a regular camp.