XXX ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR 



of the south, in which the numerous modern pueblos are situ 

 ated. The chain of observations thus secured is of value in 

 the study of the art products of the vast region formerly oc 

 cupied by town-building tribes. 



Particular attention was given to an examination of the ce 

 ramic remains. These constitute one of the means of develop 

 ing the history of the pre-Columbian inhabitants. A large 

 series of specimens was forwarded to the National Museum. 



WORK OF MESSRS. V. AND C. MINDELEFF. 



Mr. Victor Mindeleff, with Mr. Cosmos Mindeleff as his 

 assistant, left Washington for the field September 1, 1887, and 

 returned March 18, 1888. A group of cave lodges, excavated 

 in the top and sides of a cinder cone at the base of San Fran 

 cisco Mountain, and situated about 18 miles northeast of Flag 

 staff, Arizona, was visited and sketches and diagrams were 

 made. The cliff dwellings of Walnut Canyon, about 12 miles 

 southeast of Flagstaff, were also examined. 



Later the work of the field party was among the ruined 

 pueblos near Keam Canyon, which connect traditionally with 

 the present Tusayan villages. These ruins, six in number, 

 are distributed on the north border of the Jeditoh Valley and 

 are scattered along for a distance of 12 miles. 



The party afterwards camped in the vicinity of Oraibi, the 

 largest of the present villages of Tusayan. Here a study was 

 made of the primitive constructional devices still in use. Two 

 interestino- ruins were discovered in this neighborhood and 



o 



their ground plans secured. In the northern ruin a cave or 

 underground apartment was found containing vestiges of stone 

 walls and timber supports. The small village of Moen-kopi 

 was surveyed. This is an outlying farming pueblo, occupied 

 mainly during the planting and harvesting seasons. An ex 

 tensive system of irrigation was in operation in. this vicinity. 



Subsequently the party spent six weeks at the Chaco ruins 

 in Xew Mexico. An accurate architectural survey of the more 

 important ruins was made, and the plans obtained reveal many 

 points of interest. The degree of mechanical knowledge dis 

 played by the builders of these pueblos and also the quality 



