10 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 51 



form the nucleus of a collection from Cliff Palace. The increasing 

 interest, local and national, in the prehistoric culture of the South- 

 west and the influence of these antiquities in attracting visitors to 

 localities where the}' exist, furnish a reason for considering in some 

 detail various other questions of general interest connected with cliff- 

 dwellings that naturally suggest themselves to those interested in the 

 history- of man in America. 



The method of work in this undertaking has been outlined in the 

 report on Spruce-tree House published by the Secretary of the Inte- 

 rior/' The primar}' thought has been to increase the educational 

 value of Cliff Palace by attracting tourists and students of archeology. 



The reader is reminded that from the nature of the work at Cliff 

 Palace very few specimens can be expected from it in the future, and 

 that so far as the minor antiquities are concerned the objective mate- 

 rial from this ruin is now all deposited in public museums or in pri- 

 vate collections. Additional specimens can be obtained, however, 

 from other ruins near it which will throw light on the culture of Cliff 

 Palace. It is appropriate, therefore, to point out, at the very thresh- 

 old of our consideration, that a continuation of archeological work 

 in the Mesa Verde National Park is desirable, as it will add to our 

 knowledge of the character of prehistoric life in these canyons. 

 The next work to be undertaken should be the excavation and repair 

 of a Mesa Verde pueblo. The extensive mounds of stone and earth 

 on the promontory west of Cliff Palace have not yet been excavated, 

 and offer attractive possibilities for study and a promise of many 

 specimens. Buried in these mounds there are undoubtedly many 

 rooms, secular and ceremonial, which a season's work could uncover, 

 thus enlarging indirectly our knowledge of the cliff-dwellers and 

 their descendants.'' 



The writer considers it an honor to have been placed in charge of 

 the excavation and repair of Cliff Palace, and takes this occasion to 

 express high appreciation of his indebtedness to both the Secretary 

 of the Smithsonian Institution and the Secretary of the Interior for 

 their confidence in his judgment in this difficult undertaking. 



Maj. Hans M. Kandolph, superintendent of the Mesa Verde 

 National Park, gave assistance in purchasing the equipment, making 

 out accounts, and in other ways. During the sojourn at Cliff Palace 

 the writer was accompanied by Mr. R. G. Fuller, of the Peabody 

 Museum of Harvard University, a volunteer assistant, who con- 



" In his Annual Report for 1908. See also Bulletin 1,1 of tlie Bureau of American Eth- 

 nolofiii. 



''A few holes that have been dug here and there in these mounds have brought to light 

 sections of walls wi(h good masonry, but no excavations that couid be called extensive or 

 scientific have yet been attempted on this site. The excavation of these mounds might 

 reveal a pueblo like Walpi, and a comparison of objects from them with those from Cliff 

 Palace would be Important in tracing the relationship of cliff-dwellings and pueblos. 



