14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 35 



purposes. The turkey filled so great a need that it was domesticated. 

 Its feathers were employed in clothing and in worship, and for the 

 latter purpose the plumage of many birds was utilized. Through 

 aboriginal commerce shells from the Pacific found their way to this 

 region as to other parts of the Southwest. 



The majority of the bones unearthed are those of deer, which then 

 as now existed in great numbers in the hilly country. Nothing has 

 been found upon which to base the opinion that the turkey Avas eaten. 

 No evidences of cannibalism have been discovered. 



The bones found in village debris and in cave-dwellings indicate 

 that animal food was not neglected, even though it did not assume 

 the importance of substances derived from the vegetal kingdom, 

 especially through the cultivation of maize. In common with most 

 tribes, the inhabitants of this area were doubtless omnivorous, the 

 vicissitudes of the environment compelling the people to avail them- 

 selves of every resource. 



Buildings 

 grading of sites 



Moisture and vegetation are responsible for the preservation of the 

 ruins found in the mountainous districts, whereas in the open, naked 

 country winds and rainfall are powerful agents in eroding the loose 

 soil and effacing the work of the builders. 



The large ruin at the Spur ranch of Mr. Montague Stevens, 7 

 miles east of Luna, N. Mex., was built on a series of artificial ter- 

 races, and the whole site, covering several acres, has been so exten- 

 sively graded and filled as to cause astonishment. There was far 

 more labor expended in this work than in erecting the pueblo. At 

 the S. U. ranch, on the upper Tularosa, another striking example 

 exists where the high terrace forming the podium of a pyramidal 

 ruin has been shaped and a graded way made to the summit. These 

 are but two of very many instances in which the results of the grad- 

 ing operations carried on by the pueblo builders may still be observed. 



PUEBLOS 



The energy of the pueblo builders in the work of constructing 

 edifices of stone and earth has often been remarked by observers. 

 In the open country, as on plateaus and in wide river valleys dis- 

 tant from mountains, the stone village was the common type, and 

 mud was employed in the construction of walls only in absence of 

 more durable material. .The influences of environment on the minds 

 of the ancient builders modified their customs, securing the requi- 

 site adaptability in their habitations; thus in the colder regions 

 houses were built more compact than in warmer climates; under 



