REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 47 



derived. This part of tlie study also pi'oved of exceptional interest, as it indicated 

 the delicacy with which the Indian mantifacturer adjusted himself to his environ- 

 ment; in situ the rock is too massive and obdurate for working by primitive meth- 

 ods; in the upper reaches of the stream the bowlders derived from parent ledges are 

 too large for reduction Avithout the use of metal; below the conilueuce of Pass 

 Creek with the Hawksbill the pebbles are too small and too scant for profitable 

 working; while just above the confluence, at the site discovered by Mr. Fowke, the 

 l)ebbles are at the same time of suitable size and snliticiently abundant for easy 

 working by i)rimitive methods — in short, the best and, indeed, the only feasible site 

 for the aboriginal factory was that selected for the purpose. The material is a 

 peculiarly tough and strong crystalline rock, which flakes fairly well and is at the 

 same time adapted to battering and grinding. 



During the flrst three months of the year Mr. Gerard Fowke was occupied, under 

 Mr. Holmes'd general instructions but under the immediate direction of the ethnolo- 

 gist in charge, in making collections from the little known but highly interesting 

 interior shell mounds in the valley of Teimessee River. This work yielded excellent 

 results, particularly in the form of material collected for the enrichment of the National 

 Museum. The collections were duly cleaned, prepared, and tabulated, and trans- 

 ferred to the Museum by Mr. Henry Walther. 



Mr. William Dinwiddle, nnder Mr. Holmes's immediate direction, spent the greater 

 part of the months of July, August, and September in archii^ologic reconnoissance 

 along the shores and tributaries of Chesapeake Bay with the object of demarking 

 more exactly by art products the territory belonging respectively to the diflerent 

 peoples. His work also yielded abundant collections for the enrichment of the 

 National Museum for the benefit of contemporary and future students. 



During February and March, as already noted, Mr. Dinwiddle was occupied in 

 investigating the aboriginal steatite quarry at Clifton, Va. The quarry was 

 cleared and its walls and floors were found to yield numerous and characteristic 

 traces of primitive workmanship: a rich collection of broken and partially finished 

 utensils was made ; a good series of photographs, showing with unprecedented accu- 

 racy the details of the quarrying and manufacturing operations, was taken ; a num- 

 ber of the tools used in the work were founil, while the entire collection has been 

 brought together for study and preservation in the National Museum. The more 

 general results of the investigation of this quarry have been incorporated in 

 reports by Mr. Holmes, while a detailed paper on the subject is in preparation by Mr. 

 Dinwiddle. 



The results of the work by Mr. Cosmos Mindeleft' in New Mexico and Arizona are 

 of much importance. The examination of over sixty ruins in Canyon de Chelly veri- 

 fies the conclusion previously reached by the same investigator that the clifii" dwell- 

 ings here were primarily farming outlooks, and that the home villages were commonly 

 located on Avholly indefensible sites on the canyon bottom. It was found that the ruins 

 are divisible into several groups, apparently representing a chronologic sequence. In 

 the later ruins highly suggestive details are found illustrating the gradual assimila- 

 tion of introduced or accultural ideas. Among other results there was obtained a 

 series of drawings and photographs showing the development of chimney structure 

 from the first crude attempts to imitate a form known only from casual observation 

 and description to a more finished structure, though the most finished product was 

 far from perfect, while the first attem])ts were exceedingly crude. Mr. Mindeleff 

 was led to conclude that the foreign ideas exemplified in the chimneys and otiier 

 structures were introduced in the architecture of Canyon de Chelly at a late period 

 of the occujiancy of the territory, probably only a few decades before its abandon- 

 ment. Other details, such as the constructive use of adobe, were traced through the 

 various stages of development in the same way ; and some ruins were found in which 

 the old and the new ideas find expression side by side in such manner as to indicate 

 that the village was occupied before the introduction of the foreign ideas, and that 

 the occupancy continued until after the ideas were definitely crystallized. 



