NO. 12 ARCHEOLOGY OF TAOS VALLEY — JEANQON 5 



Plaza at Ranches. This is where the excavation was carried on, and 

 the site will be described in the part of this paper devoted to the 

 excavation. 



South of the town of Llano, on the mesa, are many low mounds 

 but no wall indications. Very little pottery is scattered over the sur- 

 face. There are many circular depressions which at first appeared to 

 be klvas but were afterwards found to be pits from which adobe was 

 taken to build walls. Again it was impossible to determine accurately 

 outlines of even the mounds, as these are so badly washed out and 

 so nearly obliterated that no boundaries could be established. 



BAGLEY RANCH RUIN 



About nine miles from Fernandez de Taos and five miles from 

 Llano, on the Bagley Ranch, are two of the most interesting sites in 

 the whole Taos region. A little less than one-half mile from the ranch 

 houses, on the sides of a tongue-shaped projection from the main 

 mesa, is one which is extremely puzzling. Rimning along the base 

 and the sides of the projection for more than one-half mile is an area 

 covered with thousands of potsherds, broken metates, manos, and 

 other minor antiquities. In some places the sherd-strewn areas extend 

 almost to the top of the hill. There are three distinct benches, each 

 one having a definite platform running back to the next rise. These 

 platforms are covered with what appears to be disintegrated adobe 

 walls and ashes, mixed with a vast amount of pottery and stone 

 artifacts. At no place in the whole area are even the faintest traces 

 of walls apparent. The waiter dug in many places where a line of 

 stones seemed to indicate walls, but none was found. The present 

 covering of the ground is certainly not the native soil, as its appear- 

 ance is very different from that of the soil a few feet away from the 

 borders of the ruin. Adobe and ashes are in evidence everywhere on 

 the site, while the native soil is covered with a sandy, small-pebbled 

 layer similar to that on the bed of a stream. If once a pueblo stood 

 here, it must have been a very large one, although now completely 

 obliterated. If not, what was the source of all the pottery and other 

 artifacts? It is very difficult to conceive that even an adobe village 

 could be so completely wiped out. The whole area is much too great 

 in extent to suppose that it is a refuse or burial mound. No frag- 

 ments of human bones were found on the surface, as would be ex- 

 pected had there been burials in a refuse heap showing so many signs 

 of erosion. 



