NO. IO ARCHEOLOGY OF MIMBRES VALLEY FEWKES / 



The ruins here considered do not belong to the same type as those 

 of the Lower Gila and Salt, although they may be contemporaneous 

 with them, and may have been inhabited at the same time as those on 

 the Casas Grandes River in northern Chihuahua. Not regarded as 

 belonging to the same series of ruins as those on the Upper Gila and 

 Salt rivers, they are not designated numerically with them. 



Although the indications of an ancient prehistoric occupancy of the 

 Mimbres ar so numerous, they are so indistinct and have been so 

 little studied that any attempt here to include all of them would be 

 premature. Remains of human occupancy occur in the plain about 

 Deming, and can be traced northward along the river east and west 

 into the mountains, and south into Mexico. 



The author has observed many evidences of former settlements 

 along the Upper Mimbres which have not yet been recorded. The 

 indications are, as a rule, inconspicuous, appearing on the surface of 

 the ground in the form of rows of stones or bases of house walls, 

 fragments of pottery, and broken stone implements, such as metates 

 and manos. These sites are commonly called &quot; Indian graves,&quot; 

 skeletons often having been excavated from the enclosures outlined 

 by former house walls. There are also evidences of prehistoric 

 ditches at certain points along the Mimbres, showing that the ancients 

 irrigated their small farms. 



No attempt is made here to consider all the ruins of the Mimbres 

 or of the Antelope plain in the immediate neighborhood of Deming, 

 but only those that have been visited, mainly ruins from which the 

 objects here described were obtained. 



Although few of the walls of the ancient buildings rise high above 

 ground, they can be readily traced in several places. From remains 

 that were examined it appears that the walls were sometimes built of 

 stone laid in mortar and plastered on the inside, or of adobe strength 

 ened at the base with stones and supported by logs, a few of which 

 have been found in place upright. No differentiation of sacred and 

 secular rooms was noticed, and no room could be identified as belong 

 ing to the type called kiva. The floors of the rooms were made of 

 &quot; caleche,&quot; hardened by having been tramped down ; the fireplace was 

 placed in one corner, on the floor, and the entrance to the room was 

 probably at one side. To all intents and purposes these dwellings 

 were probably not unlike those fragile wattle-walled structures found 



aided by Mr. E. D. Osborn and several other citizens, and takes this opportunity 

 to thank all who rendered assistance in his studies. The photographs repro 

 duced in the present paper were made by Mr. Osborn. 



