﻿208 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 78 



and a half miles east of Flagstaff, at the hase of Elden Mesa. To 

 this ruin he gave the name Elden Pueblo. He was assisted in this 

 field-work by Mr. J. P. Harrington, ethnologist, and Mr. A. W. Wild- 

 ing, stenographer, both of whom contributed to the success of the 

 expedition. Valuable assistance was rendered by Mr. J. C. Clarke, 

 Custodian of the Wupatki National Monument, and by Prof. H. S. 

 Colton, of the University of Pennsylvania, both of whom spent much 

 time at the ruin and aided in many ways. These gentlemen called 

 Dr. Fewkes' attention to the clearing in the pine trees that in- 

 dicated the site of a prehistoric building which had been long suspected 

 by a few local residents. The discovery of Elden Pueblo, or rather the 

 demonstration that the clearing indicated a pueblo site, was an im- 

 portant one, since it opened up an extensive area where many small 

 ruins occur but of which practically nothing is known save obscure 

 sites. The work at Elden Pueblo developed a new type of building 

 characteristic of the region south of the Grand Canyon and west of 

 the Little Colorado, extending west and south to the Lower Gila, the 

 massive ruins of which, known as compounds, attracted attention as 

 far back as the beginning of the seventeenth century. 



This pueblo was called by Prof. Colton, Sheep Hill Ruin,^ but 

 has been given its present name from the mesa which towers over it 

 on the west. The ruin is situated about 200 yards from the National 

 Old Trails Highway, not far from where the road to Tuba City 

 branches from the main thoroughfare. This road is a much used one 

 along which daily, in full view of Elden Pueblo, pass many automo- 

 biles with tourists keenly interested in the scenic wonders of the 

 country and in the attractive remains of the former inhabitants. Very 

 few of these tourists passed without stopping to inspect the work 

 the Bureau was doing in bringing to light this remarkable relic of 

 the past. 



The mound which covered Elden Pueblo was not very attractive as 

 an archeological site when work began. It was devoid of trees, sur- 

 rounded by a pine forest, and covered with bushes and stones. In- 

 distinct lines of rocks were visible on the surface of the ground, but 

 even these could not be traced many feet. No standing walls existed 

 above ground, the rooms later excavated having been filled level to 

 the top with fallen stones, earth and sand. The general appearance 

 of the site before excavation is shown in figure 205. Several old resi- 

 dents of Flagstaff claimed they had often herded stock or sheep over 



^ In his manuscript now awaiting publication in the Bureau of American 

 Ethnology. The name Elden Pueblo is there applied to another site. 



