ARCHEOLOGICAL FIP:LD WORK IN ARIZONA. 335 



demarked with parallel lines of large stones. A small cist (Plate 84) 

 was discovered in the cliff and photographed by Mr. Gates. This had 

 been broken into, and there is now no means of ascertaining its pur- 

 pose. The cist may have been made as a receptacle for cult objects. 

 A single pictograph rewarded the search. This was on the face of an 

 immense block of sandstone fallen from the rampart of the mesa. The 

 pictograph, which apparently represents a mask, is obscured by weath- 

 ering, and its preservation seems to be oAvi ng to a covering of lichen. 

 The cliffs were searched for shrines without results. 



Some time was spent in the endeavor to locate the cemetery. The 

 sand dunes 200 yards back of the pueblo seemed favorable from the 

 number of potshards there, but nothing was found, and it was thought 

 that this cemetery had been destiwed long ago b}^ the moving sand. 

 It appears that several parties of prospectors for pottery met with 

 disappointment at this ruin. The main talus of village refuse had 

 been untouched, and excavation here yielded a fair collection, which 

 has the distinction of being all that remains to tell of the ancient 

 inhabitants of the pueblo of the tirewood people 



The soil of the talus has been greatly solidified by pressure, the 

 burials often showing as a mere narrow band of organic materials. 

 Excavation was carried on by running a trench across the talus and 

 carefully paring off' the face, which was from 5 to 8 feet high. (Plate 

 85.) The bodies were placed with the head to the northwest, the face 

 toward the mesa, the legs being flexed. Mats were wrapped around 

 the body, and the remains of coiled and wicker baskets, cord of hair, 

 cloth of animal fiber, and feather textile show a considerable variety 

 in this class. Near the head were usually found lumps of gray and 

 yellow clay, red and yellow paint, and a flake knife of flint; the pot- 

 tery also was placed around the head. The bones were extremely 

 decayed, and in most cases had so disintegrated that no specimens 

 could be saved. In one burial at the moment of uncovering the body 

 by the falling away of the earth a skull was found retaining the hair 

 in excellent preservation, tied with a human hair cord at the sides of 

 the head. (See Plate S6.) The skull, however, fell to pieces in a few 

 minutes. Small balls of clay like marbles were found in the graves. 

 Beads and ornaments were almost lacking, and only one small oblong 

 of turquoise was encountered. Pahos also were not seen. Many of 

 the burials were without mortuary offerings, and rarely more than 

 three pottery vessels were taken from a single interment. 



The pottery is yellow and as a rule is inferior in quality to the frag- 

 ments scattered over the ruin. In deep diggings at the bottom of 

 the talus some burials had only gray and a little red ware. On the 

 slope below the mesa at the east side of the pueblo in indurated sand 

 at a depth of 3 feet were found four pieces of black and white ware, 

 consisting of a vase with animal handle, a cooking vessel with handle, 



