a little while ago we spent a year with the people of cliff palace and we saw them at the peak of their development as far as the mesa verde was concerned. they were successful farmers, their arts and crafts were highly developed and their religious and social customs were rigid and complex. obviously the people could not have achieved such a high cultural level in a short time: surely there must have been a long period of development in order for them to reach the stage we saw at cliff palace.
actually this development extended over many centuries and we shall now take a little time to consider the events of that long period. this is the dry part of the story. when we saw the people in cliff palace they were warm, living beings, experiencing all the emotions any people may have. but now there will be no flesh on the bones and we shall deal only with the dead, rather dry facts archeologists dig out of the earth. so we shall not tarry too long.
about 2000 years ago farming indians moved into the mesa verde region. the exact date is still unknown but it appears they were well established in some parts of the area by the beginning of the christian era. even at that early date they were farmers and their progress is easy to follow. in the preceding chapter, covering the early history of the american indian, we were dealing with elusive hunters. we saw not a single indian; only dim, mysterious shapes sifting through a forest of question marks. but now we are dealing with farmers and we shall have solid substance on which to build our story.
the trail of farmers is easier to follow. they have a dependable food supply and live in one spot for generations. they build villages and cities, and best of all, excellent garbage piles. nothing delights the archeologist as much as a big pile of trash for every piece is a paragraph in the story of a people. if he can find the things people have used, worn out and discarded the archeologist can reconstruct their lives to an amazing 156 degree. hunters seldom pile up their trash but farmers are more obliging. living for generations in a village they carry it outside and dump it in one nice big pile. and in those successive layers of trash is the story of the people. the archeologist revels in it. except for the professional garbage collector he is probably the only person in the world who is thankful for trash.
excavation of ruins and trash piles has revealed that the mesa verde region was occupied by farming indians from about the beginning of the christian era, possibly somewhat earlier, until almost 1300 a.d. for convenience this long occupation has been divided into four archeological periods. actually there were no abrupt breaks between these periods. once the farming indians settled in the area they developed steadily and there was constant progress until the climax was reached.
dividing the occupation into periods makes it much easier, however, to follow the progress of the people. various archeologists have used different names for the periods but we shall use a system that was developed by dr. frank h. h. roberts, of the smithsonian institution. dates for the various periods vary somewhat in different parts of the pueblo area but those used here serve well for the mesa verde itself.
basket maker period. 1 to 450 a.d.
modified basket maker period. 450 to 750 a.d.
developmental pueblo period. 750 to 1100 a.d.
great pueblo period. 1100 to 1300 a.d.
the fact that the first two periods are called “basket maker” and the last two “pueblo” should not be considered as an indication that there was a difference in the people themselves. many years ago it was felt that during the eighth century there was a change in the physical type but this idea has been discarded. the people as well as their culture seem to have progressed in an unbroken line. it should be noted, also, that the dates are not rigid and they do not indicate abrupt, easily discerned cultural changes.
basket maker period. 1 to 450 a.d.
the basket makers were the earliest farmers in the mesa verde area. their culture was comparatively simple and was 157 featured by excellent weaving, especially of baskets and bags. because of this trait they were called basket makers by the early explorers and the name has stuck. credit for recognizing and naming these early people goes to richard wetherill, whom we have already met. in 1893, the wetherills were digging in a great cave in butler wash, in southeastern utah. while digging in the natural sand floor of the cave richard found a burial pit, then another and another. when the excavation of the cave was completed the wetherills had found ninety burials and in many cases the bodies were well mummified because of the drying effect of the cave sand.
the men were immediately impressed by the fact that the ninety graves had yielded no pottery. previously they had excavated extensively in the mesa verde where the graves always contained pottery. but not a single piece was found with the burials in butler wash. instead, the burials yielded a profusion of baskets. for this reason richard began referring to the people as the “basket makers” and the name is still in use.
few evidences of the early basket makers have been found in the mesa verde. the remains of these people are found in caves and mesa verde caves contain cliff dwellings. in order to find the early remains it will be necessary to excavate under the cliff dwellings and this work is yet to be done. however, the basket makers seem to have occupied the entire mesa verde region and when it becomes possible to excavate under the cliff dwellings the material probably will be found. even though few evidences of the basket makers have been discovered in the mesa verde the culture is well known from extensive excavation in nearby areas.
at the beginning of the basket maker period the people seem to have lived a seminomadic life. they had only recently taken up farming and at first they probably farmed incidentally, regarding it only as a novel side line. its possibilities became more and more apparent with each harvest and conditions were soon reversed. farming became the mainstay and hunting became the side line. after the people fully realized the advantages of agriculture they never returned to a hunting life. their main dependence was on the harvests and hunting was secondary in importance.
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our first recognition of these people brings up an interesting problem. were they living in the mesa verde region as hunters when corn and squash came to them from some other tribe or did they bring these plants from some other region where they had already learned to farm? the answer is not yet known so we can simply say that when we first recognize them in the mesa verde area they were turning from a hunting to a farming life.
physically, the basket makers were an interesting group. a large number of their burials have been found so their physical appearance is not in doubt. they were rather short in stature, the women averaging about five feet and the men three or four inches taller. the skin color varied from light to dark brown and it is safe to say that their eyes were also brown. the hair was black, sometimes rusty black and occasionally was inclined toward a slight waviness. on the mummies that have been found the hair of the women usually is cropped short but the male mummies sometimes exhibit elaborate hair styling. on some a wide line was shaved down the center of the head and the remaining hair was done up in a number of large and small braids.
if we could have walked through a basket maker village we probably would have considered the people rather attractive even when viewed from our own standards. they would have seemed short to us but well proportioned. their features would have been pleasing for there would have been none of the amazing skull deformities which we saw among the people of cliff palace. everything indicates they were a peaceful, easygoing people and, in all probability, they would have been easy to like.
from a cultural viewpoint the basket makers are important because of their lack of certain very important traits. during their early farming stages they did not make pottery, did not use the bow and arrow, and did not have permanent houses except in one area which we shall mention in a moment.
the lack of houses and pottery was perfectly natural for they had only recently been a hunting people. while they lived as hunters they were forced to move about in search of game and a permanent house was an impossibility. pottery was also out of the question for it was too heavy for them to transport as they moved about. the absence of the bow was simply due to 159 the fact that it had not yet reached these people. the bow probably was invented only once. from its point of beginning somewhere in the old world it spread slowly from tribe to tribe and we shall see it reach the basket makers at a later date.
all people need shelter, household utensils and weapons so, lacking houses, pottery and the bow, our basket makers used substitutes. as is always the case they were inferior.
part of the time, probably during the cold seasons, the basket makers lived in caves. these offered shelter from the elements and provided safe, dry places for the storage of food. the women built their fires in level sheltered areas and around these fires centered most of the activities. in the rear of the cave they constructed storage cists for their corn. small pits were dug in the cave floor and were lined with slabs of sandstone chinked with bark and mud. over the pit was placed a roof of poles and packed earth, leaving only a small hatchway which was closed with a thin stone slab. such cists were secure and dry and served as excellent storage bins for the year’s harvest of corn. when the people left the cave for any length of time they could conceal the storage pits by covering them over with earth and stones so they would not be detected by chance visitors.
even though most of the basket maker remains have been found in caves it is probable that they lived in the open near their fields for at least part of the year. as farming became more important to them they were forced to protect their crops. each farm needed to be watched carefully to prevent damage by birds and mammals or even by men of other groups. because of this necessity of living near their fields it is probable that they erected temporary shelters for protection from the sun and rain. a mere framework of poles covered with brush and grass would have sufficed. no trace of these temporary shelters has been found but there is a strong feeling that they did exist.
recent excavations have revealed that in one area the basket makers began experimenting with permanent houses at an earlier date than formerly had been realized. near durango, colorado, mr. earl h. morris, of the carnegie institution, excavated a number of house structures, both in caves and on open hillsides, which date from the first and second centuries a.d. while these houses were crude when compared with the standardized pithouses which later came into wide use, they do indicate that 160 the basket makers, in that area at least, began to experiment with permanent structures soon after they became a farming people. further excavation may reveal that crude, hogan-like structures were in general use at an earlier date than has been realized.
the absence of pottery during basket maker times resulted in a widespread use of baskets and, as the name implies, basketry was the major craft. many of the baskets of this period are superb examples of workmanship and design. skillfully woven, artistically decorated and gracefully shaped they are outstanding among the basketry of the early indians. shallow trays were the most common form but there were also bowls, water baskets, deep carrying baskets and small baskets which probably served for storing trinkets and ceremonial objects. large, flexible bags were also woven and these were often split open and used as burial wrappings.
since pottery was unknown baskets were used for all household purposes where containers were needed. some were so tightly woven that water could be carried and stored in them and, surprisingly, food was cooked in them. cooking in a basket was a tedious affair. stones were placed in the fire and when they were very hot were dropped into the basket of food. when the stones cooled they were replaced with more hot stones until the cook’s fingers were thoroughly burned and her patience was exhausted. half-cooked “stew-a-la-ashes” was the inevitable result. it was a crude, inefficient method and greatly limited the cooking possibilities.
lack of the bow and arrow forced the basket makers to rely on an odd weapon, the atlatl, which was as difficult to use as it is to pronounce. it was used in many parts of the world before the bow took its place. the atlatl was a spear thrower which served as a mechanical lengthener for the arm. it was a slender, flattened stick about two feet in length. at one end was the grip, equipped with two loops for the fingers. at the opposite end, on the upper face, was a short spur or hook, against which the dart or spear rested.
the dart, either a reed or a slender shaft of wood, was four or five feet long. one end was tipped with a stone point: the other end was feathered and this basal end was cup-shaped to fit against the spur on the atlatl. in reality the dart was merely a long arrow.
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when the hunter was ready to use the atlatl he held it in his hand with his first two fingers through the finger loops. the end of the dart was hooked against the spur at the rear end of the atlatl and the arm was drawn back with the atlatl extending out behind, horizontally. from this position the arm was thrown sharply forward in a long sweeping arc and the dart was projected from the end of the atlatl. in this way the length of the arm was doubled and great force was imparted to the missile.
even though the atlatl was a powerful weapon it had certain bad points. accuracy was difficult to achieve and it was not well adapted for use in stalking game. the hunter was forced to stand erect and be free of bushes and trees in order to throw the dart. later we shall see the people discard the atlatl in favor of a superior weapon.
in addition to the atlatl another wooden implement was in common use. this was a short, curved stick about two feet long which was much like the throwing stick used by modern hopis in killing rabbits. while the exact use of the curved stick is not known the fact that it is so often found with the atlatl must indicate that the two comprised the hunting or fighting equipment of the men.
the atlatl was a poor weapon for use in hunting small game so nets and snares were widely used. the nets, made of yucca fiber and human hair cord, were sometimes over two hundred feet long and three or four feet wide. such nets probably were stretched across game trails or small canyons and the game was driven into them by groups of men who would then club the trapped animals. dogs, which the people seem to have had from the very first, may have been used in the game drives. these were not just tamed wolves or coyotes, but true dogs which had been brought across from asia.
clothing of the basket makers can best be described as scanty. a great many well-preserved mummies have been found and since it was customary to place the personal possessions of the deceased in the grave we can assume that no articles of clothing have escaped us completely. the total wardrobe seems to have consisted of robes and sandals for people of all ages and, occasionally, small string aprons for the women.
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the basket maker country was cold in winter, temperatures sometimes dropping as low as zero. since there were few, if any, houses except in the one area mentioned above, some articles of clothing were needed during the winter months. in every case these seem to have been robes made of animal skins. sometimes they were simply the tanned hides of deer, mountain sheep or elk. the finest robes, however, were woven from strips of fur. rabbit skins were cut into long narrow strips which were wound around yucca cords to produce fur-covered strings. these were woven into robes which, when wrapped around the body, gave the wearer considerable protection against the winter’s cold. beautiful sashes were woven from dog hair and these probably were used to hold the robes and blankets in place.
sandals evidently were common for a great many have been found in basket maker caves. these were woven of yucca fibers or yucca fiber cords and consisted simply of a square-toed, flat sole which was held to the foot by tie strings.
the only other article of clothing was a small string apron worn by the women. this consisted of a cord or belt which was tied around the waist and from this hung scores or hundreds of strings. the fringe of strings was only a few inches wide so it evidently covered only the front of the wearer. sometimes the strings were long enough to pass between the legs and be looped over the waist band at the back. the number of aprons found is not large and it may indicate that they were worn only at times of occasional necessity.
present evidence indicates that except for sandals the basket makers wore little clothing during the warm season. when winter came the fur and skin robes, of which there seem to have been an abundance, provided protection from the cold.
what the people lacked in clothing they made up in jewelry. beads, necklaces, pendants and earrings are found in profusion in the graves and there can be no doubt that the people had a strong desire for personal adornment. the materials used seem quite drab to us but from such ordinary materials as shell, bone, seeds and brightly-colored stones, jewelry of lasting beauty was fashioned.
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an ancient style show
left. these superb, 1500-year old sashes are made of dog hair
right. necklaces made of bone, stone and shells
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the basket maker cradle was entirely different from the wooden cradle we saw used in cliff palace. it was a soft flexible affair made of reeds and withes. a long stick was bent into a loop and the ends were tied together to form an oval frame. to this was bound a layer of reeds or slender withes and the cradle was then padded with soft bark or fur. when the baby was bound to the cradle a soft pad was placed under its head and the skull developed normally without being flattened.
many additional tools of wood, stone and bone are found when basket maker caves are excavated: wooden planting sticks and scoops; stone knives, scrapers, drills and pipes; bone awls, scrapers and whistles. an important item was the metate, or milling stone. this was a slab of stone with a shallow trough on the top surface. corn was placed on the metate and ground with the mano, a small stone which was rubbed back and forth in the trough.
one of the interesting things about the basket makers was the manner in which they buried their dead and, surprisingly enough, it is because of this that we have our present knowledge of the early people. all burials which have been found up to the present time have been found in caves, although it is possible that bodies were sometimes buried in other places. a favorite place for burial seems to have been the cists which originally were built for the storage of food. when these were not available graves were dug in the cave floor or the bodies were placed in holes and crevices in the rocks. often several bodies were buried together and as many as nineteen have been found in a single grave. the bodies were flexed, with the arms and legs drawn up against the chest. blankets were wrapped around them and sometimes the burial bundle was placed in a large woven bag.
fortunately for the archeologist it was customary to place offerings in the grave and these consisted of articles the deceased had used or articles his spirit would need in the afterworld. even though burial took place almost 2000 years ago the dry caves have preserved the materials amazingly well and as a result we have not only the mummified remains of the people but all of the articles which were in daily use centuries ago.
we have seen briefly the outstanding traits of the basket maker culture. summing them up, we see a tribe of indians living in the mesa verde region at the beginning of the christian 166 era. formerly hunters, they turned more and more to farming, raising corn and squash on the mesa tops or in open canyon bottoms. having no permanent houses they sought the shelter of caves and since pottery was unknown baskets were widely used. the atlatl, or spear thrower, was used instead of the bow. minor arts and crafts enabled the people to live a comparatively well-rounded life.
the noteworthy point is that from this simple beginning developed the amazing pueblo culture which reached its peak in the thirteenth century. since the people were industrious and intelligent they progressed steadily, following the same trail which all people have taken in their climb toward civilization. in the early stages progress was slow but with the acquisition of each new idea the pace quickened.
the great step forward was the abandonment of the chase, the acceptance of a settled farming life. within a short time they became firmly established agriculturists. their main dependence for food was soon on their farms, and wild animals and plants became a secondary source.
the change to a farming life revolutionized the entire culture. as the source of food changed the religious, social and economic life also changed. the religion of hunters could never suffice for farmers. the men viewed rain, snow, the soil, the sun, frosts and the changing seasons through the eyes of farmers instead of through the eyes of hunters. all events of nature were interpreted according to their effect upon agriculture. new social regulations grew out of the settled existence and the entire outlook on life was different.
even though progress was slow at first some startling changes came. about the middle of the fifth century some of the changes were so important that the culture was radically modified. a new descriptive term must now be used in order to indicate these new developments.
modified basket maker period. 450 to 750 a.d.
even though the culture changed the people themselves did not. it is extremely important to keep in mind the fact that the modified basket makers were merely the descendants of the true basket makers. they added new material things to their culture, thus modifying it, but they themselves changed not one particle.
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to state it briefly, it can be said that the change in name has been made because the people acquired the things which were mentioned as lacking during the earlier period. they learned to make pottery, they began to build houses and they adopted the bow and arrow. thus the true basket making culture changed. the weaving of baskets continued but the addition of pottery modified the culture and this is indicated in the new name.
it is important to note that all three of the new developments did not appear at exactly the same time nor did they reach all of the basket makers at the same time. they spread from one group to the next. they were slow in getting to some regions or, since there are conservatives among all people, perhaps some of the basket makers were hesitant about accepting the new-fangled contraptions.
it is extremely doubtful if the basket makers invented a single one of the important new things. new inventions usually were passed from one tribe to another: often an intricate contrivance such as the bow and arrow traveled all over the world after a single invention. the basket makers did a certain amount of traveling and trading and they were not averse to borrowing new ideas from their neighbors.
it seems fairly certain that pottery came to them from the south where other tribes had been making it prior to its arrival in the mesa verde region. some of the basket maker men, while on a trading expedition, may have seen women making vessels out of clay. realizing the superiority of these vessels which could be placed directly on the fire the men mentioned the matter to their wives upon their return home. possessed only of the idea, the women began trying to make pottery.
they were practically forced to invent pottery all over again for they knew nothing about the actual process. they had merely heard that fine vessels could be made from clay. their first attempts were extremely clumsy and resulted in absolute failure. they made the first pots from pure clay and as fast as it dried the vessels cracked and fell into pieces. after a time the women realized they must add something to the clay to hold it together. straw and juniper bark were tried and there was a certain measure of success. the vessels had less tendency to crack but when they were placed on the fire the straw burned out and the result was more in the nature of a sieve than a pot.
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the patient women continued to experiment and at last they learned that some kind of sand or grit was necessary for temper. in several places in the mesa verde volcanic formations provided the potters with an abundance of volcanic grit. when this was ground fine and added to the pottery clay the vessels did not crack upon drying. the first pieces of pottery were merely sun dried but soon the women learned that if they were subjected to intense heat they were much stronger and were waterproof. each vessel was carefully baked, or fired, and true pottery was the result.
the effect of pottery upon the food habits of the people was profound. with vessels that could be placed directly on the fire whole new lines of food were available. soups, stews, porridges and greens became commonplace. many new plants were utilized and innumerable combinations of meats and plants were discovered. pottery was also of great value for water storage. baskets were not good for this because the moisture soon caused them to disintegrate. pottery lasted indefinitely and each woman could make an unlimited number of large water jars. on rainy days every jar in the village could be filled and the terrors of drouth were lessened.
thus it is easily seen that the perfection of pottery was one of the major steps in the progress of the indians. the diet was improved, the drudgery of cooking was lessened, the range of foods was widened, storage facilities were increased and the entire domestic economy of the people took a decided turn for the better.
at first the pottery was crude but with each succeeding generation it improved. the proper percentage of temper and clay was discovered, designs were introduced and improved upon and vessel shapes became more graceful and efficient. as time passed the fingers of the potters became more and more deft.
the adoption of a permanent house was also of great importance. life in the open caves was never too comfortable. heavy rains, deep snows and the bitter temperatures of winter held certain terrors for the people who were without actual dwellings. no great population could ever grow under such conditions. a permanent, secure house was needed to stabilize the culture.
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as we have already seen, the basket makers in at least one area began to experiment with permanent houses at an early date. it is not yet known whether these earliest houses developed into the standardized pithouses which spread widely over the area early in modified basket maker times but we may be quite sure the people did not develop it entirely by themselves. similar pithouses were used by indians in many parts of america, in fact they can be traced up the northwest coast and on to alaska and siberia. since this type of house was used so widely it is probable that the basket makers borrowed the idea from some neighboring tribe.
the dwellings were pithouses, partially above and partially below the ground. the underground portion consisted of a shallow pit two or three feet in depth and ten to twenty feet in diameter. sometimes the earthen walls were plastered with clay, or if the walls had a tendency to cave they were lined with stone slabs. in the floor, forming a large square, four holes were dug and a forked post slightly higher than a man’s head was set upright in each. four slender logs were placed in the forks of these posts forming a square framework, the main support of the roof. slender poles were slanted from the edge of the pit to this framework at twelve or fifteen inch intervals, entirely around the room. other poles were placed across the flat, top portion to complete the skeleton of the roof.
to this framework was lashed a solid covering of reeds, brush, bark or coarse grass and the entire roof was covered with a layer of earth several inches thick. a small hatchway was left in the center of the roof. this served as a smoke hole and it was often equipped with a ladder and used as an entrance. the firepit was in the center of the room below the smoke hole.
since the pithouse needed ventilation a tunnel was dug through the south wall and brought to the surface a few feet south of the house. sometimes this tunnel served merely as a ventilator and crawl entrance but usually the end was enlarged into a room. this second room was always smaller than the main room but it was roofed in much the same manner. in reality a house of this type consisted of the large main room and a smaller antechamber, the two being connected by a tunnel. the location of the antechamber door is uncertain. probably there was a hatchway in the roof or there may have been a door in one of the side 170 walls. it is certain that the fire in the main room drew fresh air from the antechamber for just in front of the tunnel entrance was placed a large stone slab which served as a deflector. this slab kept the current of fresh air from blowing across the fire and, in the winter, prevented cold air from sweeping across the floor where people were sleeping.
the sipapu, a small hole in the floor near the firepit, made its appearance at this time. this feature has continued in use to the present day for some of the modern pueblo indians have similar holes in the floors of their kivas. it serves as a symbolic entrance to the mother earth and its importance is indicated by the fact that it has persisted for so many centuries.
many of the earliest pithouses, perhaps the very first ones, were built in caves. the people had used the caves for centuries and it was only natural that they should build houses there. within a short time, however, there was a movement toward the open country and soon pithouse villages were being built on the mesa tops and in open valleys. the caves, although they provided shelter from the winter’s storms, were cold and uncomfortable for the sun shone in only a few hours each day. with substantial houses the people no longer feared the rigors of winter and life in the open was far more pleasant than in the cold, shadowy caves. by the seventh century most of the people seem to have moved out of the caves and they were seldom used until the time when the cliff dwellings were built.
one of the far-reaching effects of the permanent house was its influence on true family life. before this time the people probably had lived in haphazard groups with little opportunity for development of the true family. the house changed all this. in most instances a small pithouse probably served as the dwelling place of a single family and this gave new meaning to the family as a compact unit. family ties, relationships and inheritance probably took on new meanings.
as generations passed the houses improved and toward the end of the period an important development came. for some time the people had built slab-lined storage rooms around their pithouses. at first they were small but gradually they were enlarged until they could serve as living rooms. the floor was slightly below ground level and the walls of the pit were lined 171 with stone slabs. the above-ground walls were built of poles and adobe and the flat roof was of similar materials. the rooms became rectangular and the side walls vertical making it possible to join them together in long rows. at the end of the period many of the villages consisted of long rows of living rooms in front of which were a few of the old-type pithouses. these pithouses grew deeper and gradually seem to have developed into ceremonial rooms. this was the beginning of the kiva, a subterranean room which is still used for this purpose by present-day pueblo indians. ruins of the type described above are called slab-house villages because of the stone slabs which lined the walls of the living rooms.
the third cultural trait which set the modified basket makers apart from their ancestors, the basket makers, was the bow and arrow. again the people borrowed. the bow and arrow is such a complicated combination that it is easier to believe it was invented once, then spread over the world, than that it was invented several times by different people. the invention occurred in the old world and the weapon was brought to america by many bands of immigrants.
the indians of the mesa verde received the bow and arrow after they had acquired houses and pottery. some band of wandering indians probably brought the new weapon into the region and the people may have obtained it by peaceful borrowing. or they may have recognized the superiority of the bow through the sad experience of trying to defend themselves with their atlatls. whatever the circumstances may have been they adopted the bow and the atlatl was discarded.
the bow excelled the atlatl in every way. it had greater accuracy and was well adapted for stalking game or defending the home since it could be shot from almost any position. brush and trees did not interfere with its use as in the case of the atlatl which could be used only where there was room for the overhead sweep of the arm. arrows were shorter than atlatl darts, easier to carry and their range was greater. the bow was also more efficient in the killing of small game.
as is always the case the old gave way to the new. the bow was accepted and soon mastered. defense of the home was easier, hunting was more efficient and more game animals were killed than had been possible with the atlatl.
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an extremely important point that must be remembered is that the house, pottery and the bow did not all arrive at the same time. it must not be considered that on a certain day, in a certain year, the basket makers voted to accept the new things and become modified basket makers. these new cultural traits filtered in slowly and the people themselves little realized how their culture was changing.
during this period beans came up from the south and were accepted eagerly by the farmers. it is entirely possible that this acceptance was made possible by the new cooking vessels which the people now possessed. at an altitude of 7000 feet dry beans require several hours of boiling and while the people cooked in baskets this would have been virtually impossible. pottery cooking vessels made the task easy, however, and the beans, an excellent protein food, gave the people a more balanced diet. new varieties of corn also appeared. previously only red corn had been grown but now other colors became common.
during this period other cultural changes of a minor nature occurred. hafted stone mauls and axes appeared, the latter being vitally necessary for cutting the many poles used in house construction. the turkey was domesticated and feather blankets, which had first appeared in the preceding period, became increasingly common. jewelry was much the same as in earlier times except that turquoise came into use and this gave the people an additional stone from which to make beads, pendants and earrings.
the popularity of baskets was in no way lessened by the appearance of pottery and some of the finest baskets were made at this time. sandals improved in quality and the shape changed slightly. in the preceding period the sandals were square-toed but now the toe became v-shaped, or scalloped. often the sandals were elaborately decorated with colored designs and with designs produced by variations in the weave.
there is much evidence that the culture became more and more stabilized with each succeeding generation. farming methods improved and the harvests became more abundant. with dependable supplies of food, the added comfort and security of the dwellings and the improvement of living conditions the population increased. by the early part of the eighth century a 173 large population of farming indians occupied the mesa verde and surrounding regions. it must have been a peaceful time for the villages were widely scattered over the mesas and open valleys, evidently with little thought of concentration for safety.
ruins of this period are found in abundance in the mesa verde. scores of pithouse and slab-house villages have been found on the mesa tops and one pithouse village has been found in a cave. in most cases pithouses which were built in caves are now underneath the cliff dwellings which were built later. step house cave, however, proved to be an exception. in this cave, located in long canyon, the cliff dwelling occupies only the north end of the cave leaving a large clear space at the south end. this area was covered with several feet of trash which the occupants of the cliff dwelling had thrown out. in 1926, supt. jesse l. nusbaum excavated under this trash layer and found three pithouses which had been built about 600 a.d. this discovery indicates that some of the early pithouses were built in caves and that excavation under some of the cliff dwellings should reveal further evidence of cave occupation during modified basket maker times.
developmental pueblo period. 750 to 1100 a.d.
as we move into this new period it should be stressed that there was no radical change in the culture. the same people continued to occupy the mesa verde and they showed the same progressive tendencies which we have seen in the earlier periods.
at this time, however, the people did a surprising thing. they adopted a new cradle. offhand, this may not seem especially important but it had a startling effect and early archeologists were confronted with a baffling problem. the new cradle caused such a radical change in the appearance of the indians that until recently the archeologists thought a new people had moved into the region.
when the basket makers first were recognized half a century ago it was noticed immediately that their skulls were strikingly different from those of the people who had lived in pueblos and cliff dwellings. skulls of the basket makers were longer and narrower and there was no deformity on the back. in contrast, skulls of the later people were broad and this broadness was emphasized by a flattening on the back, a deformity caused by 174 the hard cradle board. the head shape was so radically different that early archeologists assumed a new, broad-headed people had moved into the region during the eighth century and merged with the basket makers.
as southwestern archeology progressed through uncertain early years this assumption that the basket makers and pueblos were two different people was generally accepted. in those early days there was not enough skeletal material for an exhaustive comparative study and while many questions were unanswered and doubts were often expressed by archeologists, the separate identity of the basket makers and pueblos was generally accepted.
now the story has changed. recent intensive study of a large amount of skeletal material, ranging from the ancient basket makers to recent pueblo indians, has thrown new light on the problem. the result is that after all these years it now becomes apparent that there was no radical change of physical type at all. the basket maker type seems to have persisted with little evidence of any great addition of new blood.
the radical change in the shape of the heads seems to have resulted from the new cradle which the people adopted during the eighth century. the soft, padded cradle of the basket makers was discarded and within a short time all of the women of the tribe were using a cradle made of wood. no pillow was placed under the baby’s head and the result was inevitable. the back of the head flattened, the sides bulged and a broad, deformed head resulted.
how can this change of cradles be explained except by saying that it was a craze, a new beauty fad which caught the fancy of the people. where it came from is not known: surely it must have been borrowed from other people with whom the basket makers came in contact. evidently the new head shape became fashionable for within a short time the new cradle was adopted throughout the area. instead of changing the hat or “hairdo”, as is the custom among modern people, they went to the very root of the matter and changed the shape of the skull itself.
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basket maker cradle
pueblo cradle board
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from this time on we are going to know the people as pueblo indians. “pueblo” is a spanish word meaning village, or town, and was applied by the early spaniards to indians whom they found living in large, compact, many-roomed villages. it is an excellent term, as far as architecture is concerned, for from the eighth century on the indians of the mesa verde showed an increasing tendency to join their houses together to form compact villages. the term, developmental pueblo period, means exactly what it says. it was a time of development and expansion and during this period the groundwork was laid for the great pueblo period which followed.
once again we should stress a very important point. even though we have changed names, even though we have stepped from the modified basket maker to the developmental pueblo period there was no abrupt cultural change. the only real difference as we move from one period to the next is in the appearance of the people. because of the adoption of the hard cradle their heads became broad and deformed but otherwise the changes were gradual and it is difficult to draw a sharp line between the two periods.
during the developmental pueblo period there was the same gradual development in all lines that we have seen throughout the earlier periods. the people were alert and curious: they were energetic and ambitious and the result was steady development. it was a period of peace and the people seem to have lived without fear of an enemy. the caves were deserted and villages were built on the open mesa tops or in broad valleys near the fields of corn, beans and squash which provided them with food in abundance. the population grew rapidly and spread over a vast area in the four corners region where colorado, utah, arizona and new mexico now meet at a common point. it was a far-flung culture and there is every evidence that for a long time there was peace and prosperity among the people.
the most important development during this period was in the field of architecture. at the end of the previous period most of the villages consisted of groups of individual pithouses. some of the villages, however, were made up of long curving rows of flat-roofed houses built of poles, stone slabs and adobe. in front of the living rooms were one or more pithouses which probably served as ceremonial rooms.
at first the developmental pueblo villages were merely continuations of these earlier villages. as time passed improvements came, indicating that the builders were doing a 178 great deal of experimenting. walls of many types were built and with each generation there was progress. during this period the population of the mesa verde evidently was large for the mesa tops are dotted with scores, perhaps hundreds, of ruins.
recently five ruins dating from this period have been excavated in the mesa verde. two of the ruins are at the twin trees site, with one ruin sitting on top of the other. the other three are less than three hundred yards away at site 16. and here again the ruins are piled up one on top of another. the people showed a strong tendency to build villages on the ruins of earlier villages.
the five ruins, taken in chronological order, show very clearly the architectural progress of the developmental pueblo period:
850 a.d. the first ruin is a slab-house pueblo. the floors of the living rooms were a foot or more below ground level and the earthen walls were lined with slabs. the upper walls consisted of slender posts, set a few inches apart, with the intervening spaces filled with adobe. in front of the long row of living rooms were four pitrooms, each one being about six feet deep. the roof of each pitroom was supported on four posts set in the floor of the room.
900 a.d. the second ruin is a post-and-adobe pueblo. the floors of the living rooms were not dug below ground level and no stone slabs were used. the walls consisted of posts, set upright a foot or more apart. the spaces between the posts were filled with adobe into which had been forced many small stones. in front of the living rooms was a kiva of a very early type. the walls were of plastered native earth. the roof was supported on four posts but instead of rising from the kiva floor the posts were built into the face of a bench which encircled the room.
950 a.d. the third ruin is a small masonry pueblo. the walls were built of stones and adobe but the masonry was exceedingly crude. the stones were irregular in shape and only a few were laid in even rows. an excessive amount of adobe was used; actually the walls were about fifty percent adobe and fifty percent stone. in front of the living rooms was an early type kiva. the walls were of plastered native earth and 179 the roof, instead of being supported on posts, was supported on four stone pillars, or pilasters, which rested on the bench.
1000 a.d. the fourth ruin is a small pueblo built of single-coursed masonry. the walls of the living rooms contain stones which were well shaped but without smoothed faces. the stones were laid in even rows but the walls were only the thickness of a single stone, measuring less than a foot in width. the kiva, which was located in front of the living rooms, approached the standard mesa verde type. the walls below the bench were faced with stone and the roof was supported by six stone pilasters which rested on the bench.
1075 a.d. the fifth ruin is a pueblo built of thick, double-coursed masonry. the faces of the stones were smoothed and some retain the peck marks of the tools used in the shaping process. some of the walls were two stories high. the kiva, located in front of the living rooms, was of excellent construction. the roof was supported on eight stone pillars which rested on the bench, and the walls, from the floor to the top of the pillars, were faced with masonry of good quality. one new architectural feature, the tower, appears in this ruin. there are three of these tall, circular structures—we shall consider them in a moment.
the five ruins demonstrate graphically the steady architectural progress of the developmental pueblo period. in the beginning the houses were crudely built of posts and adobe and the underground rooms, which may not have been entirely ceremonial at first, were merely deep pitrooms. at the end of the period the houses were of good masonry and the standard mesa verde kiva had developed. certainly this development shows that the people were constantly experimenting and as a result the architecture improved steadily. during the latter part of the period few large pueblos were built. usually a village consisted of a few living rooms joined together in a compact unit. a short distance south of the living rooms was a single kiva.
pottery also made rapid advances during this period. the women had become convinced of its value and they experimented endlessly, probably in a spirit of friendly competition. during the preceding period pottery was dull gray in color and the crudely painted designs did not contrast well with this drab background. the women now learned to apply a thin wash of 180 white clay to the vessels. this wash or slip, as it is called, produced a clear white background and against this the constantly improving designs stood out in bold contrast. corrugated pottery appeared and vessels of this type were used chiefly for cooking purposes.
good baskets still were made but pottery vessels were superior to baskets for most purposes. as a result the quality of the baskets began to decline. sandals were much like those of earlier periods except that the toes were rounded and there was less elaborate decoration. cotton came into use about the middle of the period and loom-woven cloth made its appearance. recent experiments have indicated that cotton will not grow in the mesa verde so it must have been imported from warmer areas to the south.
minor arts and crafts improved as the people became more proficient in the use of bone, stone and wood. an interesting change occurred in the metate, or milling stone, during this period. earlier metates were trough-shaped, with a shallow groove for a grinding surface. now a flat metate came into use and the entire surface was used for grinding the corn.
as the developmental pueblo period ended, thousands of peaceful farming indians occupied the mesa verde and a vast area around it. the population had grown steadily since earliest basket maker times and the region may have known its greatest population at this time or in the early part of the following period. most of the villages were small; usually they consisted of a few living rooms and a single kiva. these villages are often called unit pueblos and it has been suggested that each one may have housed a number of closely related families forming a single clan.
that the people were vigorous and ambitious is indicated by the progress which they made. now we see them nearing their cultural peak and it is time for us to leave the developmental pueblo period and move into the golden age of the pueblos.
great, or classic pueblo period. 1100 to 1300 a.d.
this period has often been called the golden age of the pueblo people. before we go into it, however, we should make some mention of the beginning date, 1100 a.d. usually, in the 181 general pueblo area, an earlier date is given for the beginning of the period. one may very easily push it back fifty or one hundred years, or even more, depending upon how the period is defined.
recent studies have produced some perplexing problems concerning the architecture, pottery and movements of the people during their last two or three centuries in the mesa verde. it is hoped that within a short time some or all of these problems will be solved. since the uncertainties do exist we shall, for our purposes here, lean rather heavily on the term “classic,” which is often applied to this climax period. the culture reached its classic development during the 1100-1300 a.d. period so we shall use those dates.
we saw the beginning of pueblo development over a thousand years earlier when the first grain of corn was planted somewhere in the mesa verde region. from that simple beginning we have seen the culture develop steadily without a backward step. now it has reached its peak and for two centuries we shall see the people enjoy the results of their long struggle for improvement. it is true that adverse influences will affect the people and will cause a radical change in their way of life. but this adversity will not affect the arts and crafts and superior workmanship will continue to the very end of the mesa verde occupation.
the massive stone walls were the finest ever built in the mesa verde. the stones were carefully cut and were laid in neat even courses. many of the walls were smoothly plastered and often they were decorated with brightly colored designs. the villages were often very large: sometimes they contained scores of rooms and rose to a height of four stories. ceremonial rooms were numerous: sometimes there were more than a score in a single village. they were built after a definite pattern, giving evidence of rigid ceremonial practices.
pottery of the great pueblo period was superb with the women of each area specializing in certain shapes and designs. in the mesa verde the women produced pottery of two types, the corrugated vessels which were used for cooking and for storage of food and water, and the black-on-white bowls, jars, ladles, kiva jars and mugs which were used for other purposes. the decorated pottery was highly polished and the intricate and 182 carefully balanced black designs stood out in sharp contrast against the glossy white background. for some unknown reason the potters used a different material for their pottery paint during this period. previously they had used mineral paints in producing their designs but now they used paint made from plants. thus the designs were simply carbon which the firing process burned into the surface of the vessels.
during the two pueblo periods basketry declined both in popularity and in excellence. this is to be expected, however, for pottery had taken its place to a great extent and it was not as important as in basket maker times. good baskets were still woven in great pueblo times but they were fewer and the lack of elaborate decorations probably indicates that their popularity was waning. sandals were still widely used but they too declined in quality. possibly the loss of quality in basketry affected this closely allied craft.
cotton cloth, often decorated in several colors, was produced in abundance and exquisite jewelry was made from turquoise, shell, bone and other materials. even the minor tools give evidence of patient industry and nimble fingers.
the great pueblo period was a remarkable climax to the many centuries of cultural development which we have just witnessed. as we study it, however, one significant fact is obvious. it was a period of regimentation with the people moving in certain well established grooves. artists and craftsmen were highly skilled but they all followed the same patterns. there was little tendency on the part of the individual to strike out by himself and develop new things. individual initiative was not strong and the religious and social life probably was rigidly regulated.
as archeologists endeavor to reconstruct the events of the great pueblo period they are confronted with some puzzling problems concerning the general way of life of the people. during the period the architectural layout of the villages changed, the villages increased in size and their location changed. in addition, the population began to decline and great areas which had long been occupied were deserted. at first glance it would seem that adverse conditions were affecting the people but more work must be done before all of the problems can be solved.
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at the beginning of the period the population was widely scattered and most of the villages were small unit pueblos which have already been mentioned. the fact that the people lived in small scattered villages would in itself indicate that no danger threatened. even more indicative of peaceful times is the fact that the kiva was located outside the village walls. the kiva, an underground room, was used primarily by the men. the only exit was a small hatchway in the roof and through this only one man could emerge at a time. if a raiding party had surprised a small village while the men were in the kiva during a ceremony or at night the results would have been tragic.
early in the great pueblo period the people began to change the location of the kiva. soon, in most cases at least, the kiva was placed inside the village and was surrounded by the houses. no longer was the underground room a death trap in case of a surprise raid.
at about the same time tall round towers came into use. sometimes they were built at the outer walls of the pueblo but very often the tower was built beside the kiva and was connected with it by an underground tunnel. the round tower, which stood higher than the rest of the village, would have served admirably as a lookout tower and connecting it with the men’s room would seem a natural development. it has been suggested that the tower may have had some ceremonial use since it was connected with the kiva. more practical, however, is the idea that it was a watch tower which resulted from a defensive need. or, if one wishes to avoid taking sides, perhaps it served both purposes.
whatever was affecting the people now seems to have caused life in small villages to be less desirable for as we move farther into the great pueblo period we see the pueblos increase in size. it is true that some small pueblos were still in use but one of the outstanding characteristics of the period was the concentration of the population in pueblos of great size.
an excellent example of this concentration is to be seen in the great montezuma valley which lies to the north and west of the mesa verde. at an earlier date the pueblo indians who occupied this valley lived in many small villages. during the great pueblo period the people seem to have banded together to form large communities. a number of enormous pueblos 184 were constructed and in many cases they were built around the springs which supplied water for the populace.
in the mesa verde the trend was the same. at the beginning of the period the people lived in numerous small pueblos. after a time they began to band together and toward the end of the twelfth century large pueblos were being built on the mesa tops and in the broad, shallow drainages at the heads of canyons. in some cases several small pueblos were built close together while in other cases several small pueblos were clustered around one or more large ones.
the next change was the most radical of all. about 1200 a.d., the people began to desert the mesa tops and within a short time cliff dwellings were built in almost every cave in the mesa verde. shallow caves were available in great numbers for the mesa contains a score of large canyons. the exact number of cliff dwellings is not known but probably there are as many as six or eight hundred in the canyons of the mesa verde.
the events of the great pueblo period seem to indicate that the people were faced with some danger which was not present during the earlier periods. the change from small to large pueblos indicates a need for security and the final move to the caves must indicate a definite need for defense. hundreds of the caves were high on the cliff faces and many of them were additionally fortified with defensive walls.
there can be little doubt that during this period the security of the people was threatened. now we come to the most difficult question of all. who was the enemy? against whom were the people defending their homes? the complete answer is not known but there appear to be two possibilities.
it has been suggested that during this period dissension arose within the pueblo group itself and the people began to war against each other. this theory will be difficult to prove and events of the period seem to argue against it. if the need for defense resulted from trouble within the tribe one might well expect the people to scatter even more widely with groups leaving the heavily populated areas to seek safety in isolation. but the people did just the opposite. large areas were deserted and the population became more concentrated than in any previous period.
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four small cliff dwellings with excellent defensive locations
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this drawing together of the pueblo people may well indicate that the threat was from the outside and it is possible that at this time nomadic indians entered the area and began to harass the farmers. ceaseless raids of nomadic marauders would exert tremendous pressure on a farming population and withdrawal from the border lands and concentration in certain favorable areas probably indicates a need for defense against an outside enemy.
in 1540, when the spaniards entered the southwest, several tribes of nomadic indians were warring on the pueblo people and the population had dropped radically. when the pueblo population was at its height there were hundreds, perhaps thousands, of villages but when the spaniards came they found less than eighty villages of pueblo indians and these were concentrated in a small area in what is now new mexico and arizona. even after the americans came the population continued to dwindle. finally there were fewer than thirty villages of pueblo indians. much of this loss of population was due to the harassing activities of nomadic indians and it is possible that in the mesa verde area this trouble began about 1100 a.d.
the identity of the nomadic tribes which warred on the people of the mesa verde region is not known. it has been suggested that the early apaches or the early utes may have entered the area at that time but there is little positive evidence. further research may provide an answer to the problem but it is possible the identity of the “enemy people” will never be known.
the great pueblo period came to an end just before 1300 a.d., and that is the time when the pueblo indians moved away from the mesa verde, never to return. as was mentioned in an earlier chapter the pueblo indian occupation of the mesa verde came to an end during the great drought of 1276-1299 a.d. rainfall was deficient during this period of twenty-four years and before normal weather returned in the year 1300, all of the people had drifted off to the south. nothing has been found to indicate that the mesa verde region was ever occupied by farming indians after the drouth.
since the area was deserted during the drouth it is only reasonable to assume that this period of abnormally dry weather was the cause of their leaving. there is much, however, to 188 indicate that the drouth was not the sole cause. during their long occupation of the mesa verde the indians had survived many long periods of drouth. dry years were not a new experience and they were wise in the ways of existing through unfavorable periods. it is doubtful whether the drouth, severe as it was, would have caused complete abandonment of so large an area. we may feel sure that during the great pueblo period a very real danger threatened the people. they moved to the caves, certainly because of a need for security, and the population diminished. before the drouth came the people were already moving to the south and it is probable that the abnormally dry period simply hastened a movement that was already underway. while the final, complete desertion of the area may be blamed on the drouth it appears that the danger which had threatened for more than a century had much to do with the abandonment of the once populous area.
when normal weather returned in the year 1300, there were no pueblo indians in the mesa verde. all had perished or had drifted away and the villages were empty and silent. slowly the centuries paraded by. drifting earth and vegetation crept over the mesa-top pueblos and the leveling forces of nature caused the once proud cliff dwellings slowly to bow their heads.
then suddenly the silence of six centuries was broken and the emptiness was gone. men of a new race came upon the scene and the modern world learned of the glorious past of the mesa verde.
