56 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



The five caves explored in 1932, produced an exceptionally uniform 

 type of cultural material. No vestige of pottery, European artifacts, 

 or stratification appeared in any site examined. Coiled basketry frag- 

 ments are predominantly of the " split stitch with a single bundle 

 foundation." This is the distinctive type in the Big Bend region (fig. 



55, c) but there are also three others (fig. 55, a, b, d). None of these 

 corresponds to the characteristic technique used by the ancient Basket 

 Makers of New Mexico and Arizona. The sandals of southern Texas 

 likewise differ from those of the Basket Makers. 



Among the important artifacts found this year are grooved club 

 fragments (rabbit sticks?) (fig. 56, a) : atlatl foreshaft (fig. 56, b), 

 a "bunt" point (fig. 56, c), and the proximal or hand end of an 

 atlatl (fig. 56. d) ; two fragments of painted, twined woven bags (fig. 



56, e), and a small sample of cloth woven with apocynum fiber, sel- 

 vaged and complete (fig. 56, /). As similar specimens have been found 

 with Basket Maker burials in the San Juan region, we have here, for 

 the first time, evidence which may serve to indicate the relative age 

 and development of our nonpottery culture in the Big Bend area. But 

 it should be noted in this connection that, associated with the speci- 

 mens above mentioned, we also found numerous arrow shafts and 

 foreshafts which are not a characteristic of the classic era of the 

 Basket Maker culture. They seem to suggest, rather, that the Texas 

 cave dwellers lived during a transitional stage between the Basket 

 Maker III and Pueblo I periods. Absence of pottery and house types 

 in the Big Bend region still complicates this problem of possible re- 

 lationship. Continuation of our studies may clarify this phase of the 

 prehistory of southern Texas. 



Besides the above-mentioned artifacts the caves we explored con- 

 tained numerous metates, manos, projectile points, flint knives, painted 

 pebbles, and end scrapers ; yucca bags, mats, nets, and a great variety 

 of apocynum and lechugilla cordage; wooden scrapers, scoops, awls, 

 etc. ; cane tubes containing minute seeds, corn cobs, gourd sherds, and 

 bone beads ; painted sticks, bones, and buckskin bags. Thus we have 

 an index to the arts and industries of the unknown prehistoric tribes 

 concerning whom we have been seeking information. Some of the 

 other artifacts recovered show a similarity to those found around 

 El Paso 1 and the Mollie B. Knight ranch. 2 But most important of all, 

 our 1932 researches brought indications of a positive relationship be- 

 tween the Big Bend area and the southwest. 



'Roberts, F. H. H., Jr., Recent archeological developments in the vicinity of 

 El Paso, Texas. Smithsonian Misc. Coll., vol. 81, no. 7, January, 1929. 



2 Setzler, F. M., A prehistoric cave in Texas. Explorations and Field-work of 

 the Smithsonian Institution in 1931, pp. 133-140, 1932. 



