FEWKEs] OBJECTS FROM FOUR-MILE RUIIT 163 



The bell was taken t'ri)iii tlu» liatul of a skeleton exhumed from (he 

 cemetery north of the pneblo. It was much corroded, and broken on 

 one side, and the small stone which served as a clapper h.id become 

 firmly fixed to the inner wall by the corrosion of the copijer. 



PRAYER-STICKS 



Xo fragments of mortuary prayer sticks were found in the cemeteries 

 at Four-mile ruin, l)ut this negative evidence does not prove that they 

 were not in use among the inhabitants. The soil is so moist that there 

 is doubt if these wooden ol).iects would last long in it, though their 

 preservation in the Chevlon ruin, where somewhat similar conditions 

 prevail, shows that their absence at Four-mile ruin may furnish posi- 

 tive prtjof that they were not used in burial. 



GOURD RATTLES 



One of the instructive objects taken from the north cemetery at 

 Four-mile ruin was a rattle made of a small gourd. This rattle had 

 an oval shape, and was decorated M'ith red and green paint, on 

 which M"as the impression of feathers. The handle, which was broken 

 from the rattle, was not found. The occurrence of this gourd rattle, 

 identical with those still used in Pueblo ceremonials, gives archeo- 

 logical evidence of its use in ancient times, i^robably as an accom- 

 paniment to songs in religious rites. 



ORNAMENTS 



Although fully as many skeletons were exhumed from Four-mile 

 ruin as from some others, the small number of marine shells, as 

 compared with those found at Ilomolobi and Chaves j)ass, was notice- 

 able. Though the ruin is situated in a latitude south of Chaves,. 

 only a few fragments of shell were found there, while there were 

 several hundred specimens from the latter ruin. This can be explained 

 only by the theorj' that the Chaves pass and Homolobi people had 

 more marine shells than those of Four-mile ruin, that they were in 

 more direct contact with the ocean, or with people who obtained them 

 from the sea by barter or otherwise, thus indicating a direct relation- 

 ship between them and peoples of the south. The ancient trade in sea 

 shells was along the Gila river, up its northern tributaries, and across 

 the Mogollones to the Little Colorado river. Chaves pass was in 

 the direct line of this trade; Four-mile ruin was not, and the scarcity 

 of sea shells in the latter localitj' is explained by its distance from the 

 sea and the difficulty in reaching tribes nearer the Gulf of California. 



The scarcity of beads and turquoise ornaments in the collections of 

 1897 was in marked contrast with the wealth of these objects at 

 Homolobi and Chevlon. While this rarity may be in part due to the 

 limited amount of soil removed in the work, it must also be remem- 

 bered that the pueblos which were excavated in 1897 were smaller. 



