ANCIENT PUEBLOS OP UPPER GILA EEGION. 



89 



very fine splints was also found. (See pi. 17, fig. 1.) Numerous 

 fragments of twilled matting occurred in the Bear Creek Cave, but 

 were not found in tlie Tularosa Cave, 



Two- cylindrical baskets tubular in shape were found in a small 

 cliff dwelling on Spur Eanch. (PI. 16, figs. 3, 4.) Their use is not 

 known. The fan-shape mat (pl. 16, fig. 2, Cat. No. 232095, U.S.N.M.) 

 and the rolled mat (fig. 6, Cat. No. 246161, U.S.N.M.) were both 

 offerings in Bear Creek Cave. The fragment of twilled basket (fig. 1) 

 is from Tularosa Cave. (Cat. No. 246423, U.S.N.M.) 



From Bear Creek Cave comes a cylinder of basketry (Cat. No. 

 246424, U.S.N.M.) in twilled weaving of strips of the smooth leaf 

 of the lechuguilla ? skillfully worked into cylindrical shape, the loose 

 ends being coiled in the interior. (Fig. 181 ff, Z>, and pl. 16, fig. 5.) 

 Four openings in the walls of the cylinder, 

 caused by pegs which have been forced through r-^~ 



the side, indicate that this object has been at- 

 tached to a stick (fig. 181 c), possibly a digging 

 stick, like those with stone weights found 

 among the Indians of southern California. 



^ 2> 



Fig. 181. — Basketry criiiNDER from Bear Creek Cave. 



Only one specimen of this character has been found in the caves 

 visited by the Museum-Gates Expedition. Diameter, 4 inches ; height, 

 2| inches. 



Diaper work. — The specimens consist of tubes of agave stalk cov- 

 ered with basketry, the elements in two colors woven together to 

 form patterns. (See figs. 329 and 331.) The nearest basketry of 

 this character is found 1,500 miles away, near the mouth of the 

 Mississippi River, among the Chetimacha and Choctaw tribes. This 

 is the first specimen of the kind found in the Pueblo region and is 

 one of the treasures from the great ceremonial cave on Blue River. 



Coiled work. — Many examples of coiled baskets have been found 

 in the caves of southern Arizona, where they were placed as offer- 

 ings Though usually of small size, they show excellently the meth- 

 ods and materials employed in their manufacture. The common 

 type is more slender in coil than the modern Hopi sacred meal 

 plaque, but the coil is made up of rods and welt instead of a bundle 



