584 GENERAL VIEW OF ARCHEOLOGY OF THE PUEBLO REGION. 



and others in (lie Dolores drninage — were of little iini)ortancc. On 

 the west and northwest the limit is the northwestern outline of the 

 basin of the Kio Colorado. Pueblo settlements beyond this boundary 

 were few. On the east side of the rivi>r tyi^ical pueblo culture 

 flourished. Passinij to the western side we find it iiradually ceased 

 to be characteristically |)uel)l(). On th(> south the boundary as 

 accei)ted in this |)aper is the southern rim of the (lila valley. This 

 limitation is purely arbitrary, howe\(M\ as traces of identical or but 

 sli^'htly differin^i*' culture extend nnich farther south. 



An examination of the ])hysiooraphy of the frontiers of this cul- 

 ture is instructive. East of the IVcos and of the Rocky mountains 

 are the vast unbioken grassy plains, the great cattle range of recent 

 years, and the favorite buffalo range of earlier times. The buffalo 

 afforded the priucii)al food supply for the plains Indians. It was 

 an unstable source of subsistence. This, in primitive life, induces 

 a correspoiulingly nu)bile jiopulation, whereas a culture of the 

 Pueblo typc^ is based on sedentary habits. Physiogi'a])hic conditions 

 account i'ov the arrest of Pueblo culture (>ast of the Pecos. Its 

 failure to extend west of the C\)lora(lo is lil<e\vis(> a niattcu- of i)hysi- 

 ography, for along the lower course of this river absolute aridity 

 prevented settlenxMit, while farther up the givat chasm of the Grand 

 Canyon barred migration. 'J'he reason for the arivst of the Pueblo 

 frontier on the north with the San fluan-tiirand watei'shed is not 

 so apparent. To the northeast was an excellent game country, full 

 of warlike hunting tribes, forming an effective barrier in that direc- 

 tion, but to the northwest thi-ough Utah and Nevada the physi- 

 ographic coiulitious W(M'e altogether favorable to the Pueblo culture, 

 and an oi)en gateway in that direction is found east of the Colorado. 

 On the south the (lila does not constitute either a physiographic or 

 ethnographic l)oundary, since similar conditions extend down into 

 INFexico. Py conunon usage the name ''Pueblo" is applied only to 

 tribes within ihe United States, disregarding the ethnic similarities 

 of uoith Mexican tribes. Here we find natural gateways for the 

 entrant'C of early iuunigrants into Pueblo t(>rritory from the Rio 

 (Jrande at the southeast and along the (Jila and its tributaries from 

 the southwest. 



There is thus inclosed within the boundaries above described a 

 physiographic area which is accurately charactiM-i/.ed by the term 

 " semiarid, " llu' limits of which are approximately coextensive with 

 the limits of the Pueblo cultui'c. The climatic conditions are i)ecul- 

 iarly delinite. Dryness is the piwailing condition. Precipitation 

 is \(My une(|ually distributiMl throughout the yeai'. Heavy rainfalls 

 of from a lew hours to some clays' duration are followed by months 

 devoid of moisture. The character of the soil is such that the effects 

 of rainfall rapidly disappear. Absorption, evaporation, and drain- 



