holmes. 1 POTTERY OF THE RIO SAN JUAN. 315 



ship is exceptionally good. The surface is even and well polished and 

 the color is a strong red. The painted design in black, upon the red 

 ground, consists of a number of meandered lines, to which are added 

 at intervals small dentate figures, as seen in the cut. 



DISTRICT OF THE RIO SAX JUAX. 



In a number of ways the valley of the Rio San Juan possesses un- 

 usual interest to the antiquarian. Until within the latter half of the nine- 

 teenth century, it remained wholly unknown. The early Spanish ex- 

 peditions are not known to have penetrated its secluded precincts, and 

 its cliff-houses, its ruined pueblos and curious towers have been so long 

 deserted that it is doubtful whether even a tradition of their occupation 

 has been preserved, either by the nomadic tribes of the district or by the 

 modern pueblos of the south. Certain it is that no foreign hand has in- 

 fluenced the art of this district, and no Spanish adventurer has left 

 traces of his presence. 



The ceramic remains are more uniform in character and apparently 

 more archaic in decoration than those of any other district. They 

 belong almost exclusively to two varieties, the coiled ware and the white 

 ware with black figures. The former has already been described, the 

 latter must now pass under review. 



It is unfortunate that so few entire vessels of the painted pottery 

 have been found in this region. The fragments, however, are very 

 plentiful, and by proper study of these a great deal can be done to re- 

 store the various forms of vessels. In my paper upon this region, in 

 the Annual Report of the Survey of the Territories for 1S76, I gave a 

 pretty careful review of the material then in hand. Finding that in 

 very few cases were there whole vessels representing the achievements of 

 the ancient potter and decorator, I presented a number of restorations 

 from the better class of fragments. This was done in a way that could 

 lead to no serions misapprehension, as the fragments used were always 

 clearly indicated. The expert need never go astray in his estimate of 

 the character of the vessel to which given pieces belonged, and his 

 restoration from them gives a completeness of conception to the reader 

 or student at a distance that could never be acquired by the most care- 

 ful study of illustrations of the fragments. The fragments are exceed- 

 ingly plentiful about camp sites and ruins, and fairly whiten the debris 

 slopes beneath the houses in the cliffs. I found my mind so diverted 

 by these fascinating relics that it was often difficult to keep the geologic 

 problems of the district properly in view. 



No tumuli or burial places were observed, but I suspect that careful 

 search will bring them to light, and that they will jield much richer 

 results than the scattered fragments of the surface. The district now 

 under consideration comprises the entire drainage of the Rio San Juan. 

 It includes the well-known valleys of the Animas, the La Plata, the 

 Mancos, the McElmel, and the Montezuma on the north, and the Chaco 



