12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 32 



THE ANCIENT INHABITANTS 



Naturally the first question that arises in the mind of every intelli- 

 gent visitor to these cliff -dwellings, is : Who were the people who built 

 and lived in these peculiar homes ? It has been customary to answer 

 that these were simply the earlier homes of the Pueblo tribes now 

 living in the villages near by. This answer must, at least, be qualified. 

 It was accepted by the early explorers on the evidence of surface 

 appearances and the traditions of the living Pueblo Indians. Subse- 

 quent observers merely followed the lead of their predecessors. 

 Extensive excavations made in recent years have brought to light 

 more reliable evidences. Large collections of the ancient pottery 

 have been compared with that of the modern Pueblos and but few 

 similarities found in form, color, mode of ornamentation, and sym- 

 bolism. This in itself would not be conclusive proof of lack of identity 

 between the makers, but it is supported by the indisputable evidence 

 of the anatomical characters of the people. The living Pueblo 

 Indians are predominantly (50 to 75 per cent) brachycephalic, or 

 short-headed people; wliile the ancient people of the cliffs, as shown 

 by the examination of a large collection of skeletal remains excavated 

 by the writer at five different sites on Pajarito plateau, were practi- 

 cally 100 per cent dolichocephalic, or long-headed. The noticeable 

 proportion of long-headed people found among the present Pueblo 

 Indians probably represents an infusion of blood from the ancient 

 cliff-dwelling tribes. In the light of the mass of evidence now at hand 

 the answer of the present author to the question, Who were the inhabi- 

 tants of the cliff -dwellings and ancient pueblos of this plateau ? would 

 be as follows : The ruins herein described were the ancient habitations 

 of Indian tribes some descendants of which are doubtless now living in 

 the adjacent valley of the Rio Grande and its tributaries, but most of 

 whom are probably dispersed widely over the southwest. In every 

 existing Tewa tribe (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Ildefonso, Nambe, 

 and Tesuque) it is claimed that certain clans may be traced back 

 through one or more migrations to the ruined pueblos and cliff-villages 

 of the Pajarito plateau. The same may be said of the Keres villages 

 (Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, and Zia), while it is 

 known that the earlier Jemez people and their kindred occupied sites 

 farther up the valley well into the historic period. 



The pueblos and the cliff-houses were occupied during the same 

 period and by the same people. The age of these ruins may be approxi- 

 mately fixed. The San Ildefonso tribe has occupied its present site 

 since before the Spanish conquest, we may say four centuries. On 

 the opposite side of the Rio Grande, a mile west of the present San 

 Ildefonso, are the ruins of Perage. This is the village last occupied 

 by some of these people prior to their removal to Powhoge, their 



