NO. 1873 PREHISTORIC RUINS IN GILA VALLEY FEWKES 



409 



The architectural features characteristic of the Great Houses in 

 the middle Gila appear also in the ruins in the upper Gila, or the 

 so-called Pueblo Viejo, Old Pueblo, in which are situated the towns 

 San Jose, Solomonsville, Safford, and Pima, considered in a previous 

 report 1 on the ruins of that region. 



There are many localities in this region of the Gila Valley where 

 there are fine examples of ancient pictographs, among which may be 

 mentioned those cut on cliffs near Sacaton and on the lava hills 

 north of the river. About six miles east of Florence there are 

 pictured rocks that are particularly interesting. 



i. RUIN 15 MILES EAST OF FLORENCE 2 



This ruin (fig. 65) has the rectangular shape characteristic of 

 a compound, and its surrounding wall measures approximately 

 232 by 1 20 feet. It is sit- 

 uated a few miles north 

 of the old road from 

 Florence to Old Fort 

 Grant. Not far from 

 this ruin there can still 

 be seen two old reser- 

 voirs, called by the Pi- 

 mas "vashki" and by 

 the Americans "Indian 

 tanks." One of these 

 contained water at the 



time of the author's visit; the bank 3 of the other tank was washed 

 out and cut in two, so that it resembled two mounds and is so desig- 

 nated by the cow-men who have stock in this region. One of these 

 ''vashki' or "Indian tanks," (fig. 66) is identical in shape with the 

 problematically "oval mound" at Casa Grande, suggesting a simi- 

 larity in use. 



1 22d Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology. The compound 

 as a distinct type of Southwestern ruin was not recognized in this report. It 

 is recognizable at the Epley Mound, which is the central citadel of a compound 

 near Solomonsville. 



2 Florence, the capital of Final County, is the most conveniently placed city 

 from which to visit most of the Gila compounds in the eastern region, and 

 Sacaton, the Pima agency, is the best point of departure for those visiting 

 ruins on the Pima reservation. 



3 There are no walls built around the depressions, but they are surrounded 

 by a bank of earth thrown out of the depression. This fact was determined 

 by digging a cross-section of the bank of the "oval mound" at Casa Grande. 



FIG. 65. Compound 15 miles east of Florence 



