4 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 7b 



away from springs, suggesting the puzzling question. " Where did 

 they get water? " One of the largest of the ruins, situated on Monte- 

 zuma Hill, in sight of the highway not far from the village of Pinos 

 Altos, covers a high hill and consists of many clusters of rooms. 

 In no instance is there evidence that the rooms of Mimbres houses 

 were several stores high or terraced as in the pueblo region. Neither 

 has excavation revealed buildings surrounded by a wall resembling 

 compounds like Casa Grande in the Gila. The mounds of ruins are 

 low, seldom if ever having walls projecting above ground. 



The most instructive of the large Mimbres ruins, and one that 

 has yielded many specimens, is called Old Town. This site gives 

 every evidence that it was once a populous settlement. It is situated 

 at the point where the Mimbres river leaves the mountains and 

 enters Antelope Valley. Old Town is a typical Mimbres ruin but has 

 been pretty well ransacked by pot-hunters, yielding some of the most 

 interesting specimens from this valley. 



REALISTIC DESIGNS ON POTTERY 



The designs on Mimbres pottery are mainly painted on the inside 

 of food bowls and naturally fall into three groups : (i) Realistic ; (2) 

 conventional; (3) geometric. The large majority are realistic figures 

 of animals. There are several realistic birds' figures where wings or 

 tail have become more or less conventionalized. The geometric figures 

 either form a marginal decoration or cover the whole interior of the 

 bowl. They often adorn the bodies of animals. 



There is one interesting group of realistic designs that is unique 

 in pueblo decoration, viz., parts of two animals united, forming a 

 composite representation of some mythological personage.^ In one 

 or two instances human bodies have animal heads supposed to be 

 masks. 



The dififerent designs collected in 1923 are considered in the fol- 

 lowing pages. The most exceptional figures are those of composite 

 animals, one of which is shown in figure i, drawn from a photograph. 

 This bowl, owned by Mr. Eisele, was found by him on the Gonzales 

 ranch. The main figure was evidently intended to represent a human 

 being crouched in a sitting posture, annexed to which is apparently the 

 body of a bird, as shown by tail feathers. The face of the human 

 being is well made and the body weiars a kilt of checkerboard design. 

 There are two curved pointed horns on its head. The face is crossed 



^ In this connection see Tello, Las representaciones de los dioses en el arte 

 antiguo peruano. Inca, Vol. i. No. i, January-March, 1923. 



