188 TWO summers' WORK IN PUEBLO RUINS [eth. asn. 22 



The fragments of basketry were made with a technique similar to 

 that of the basinet plaques of the Middle mesa. The prayer sticks 

 were painted red at their extremities, and were, as a rule, about the 

 size of a penholder. This cave, called Adams' cave, has been rarely 

 visited since its discovery bj' 3Ir D. B. Adams, of Solomonville, but 

 will well repay a visit by an areheologist. There is little doubt that 

 there are other similar caves on the northern side of the Graham 

 mountains which have not been entered bj' white men. 



COLLECTIONS FROM A CAVE IN THE NANTACKS 



In the broken, almost inaccessible, countrj^ north of Pueblo Viejo, 

 there are many caves, some of whicli are quite extensive. The larger 

 and more open were utilized by ancient builders in the construction 

 of clitf houses. Many caves in this region have narrow entrances into 

 passages whicli extend with many ramifications far into the bowels of 

 the earth. The nature of the objects found in most of them shows 

 that the caves were not inhabited, but were resoi-ted to for purposes 



of prayer and sacrifice by a sedentary people 

 akin to that which has left so manj- ruined 

 houses in the Southwest. 



A few years ago some young men from 

 Pima, a settlement in the Pueblo Viejo, ex- 

 plored one of the caves in this region, and 

 obtained fiom it a collection of some size and 

 FIQ.H9. Indented bowl from considerable archeological Interest. 

 (number ot' ^"°**'''' The attention of the author was called to 

 this collection early in the summer of 1897, 

 and in September he visited Pima, and secured many of the objects 

 for the National Museum. 



The collection has been divided bj' those who obtained it into four 

 parts, one of which had been sent to Utah : another was owned by a 

 man who did not care to sell. The other two parts, Jiumbering almost 

 100 specimens, wei'e pui-chased. They contain all the typical forms 

 of the other two, and a few sijecimens which were unique. 



All the specimens were small votive offerings, but those who had 

 entered the cave declared that they left Ijehind all fragments, of which 

 there were many, so that we may suppose that there were larger 

 vessels thus abandoned. The specimens were, as a rule, rough ware 

 pottery (see figure 110), smooth, undecorated red ware, turquoises, 

 arrowheads, fragments of marine shells, and white pigments. 



A large number of clay disks occur in the collections. These were 

 not unlike similar formed objects which were found at Eplej-'s ruin, 

 and probably were originally luted to the orifice of the small vases 

 in much the same way. 



There were globular vases (see figure 120), one of which had two 

 perforated tubercles, one on each side of a small orifice. Tlifse 



