BULL. 30] 



PAJARITO PARK 



189 



mados. Of the Pajaritos, 56 individuals 

 were in the mission (Joseph Tienda de 

 Cuervo, Revista of Camargo, July 13, 

 1757, in Archivo Gen., Hist., lvi). The 

 Venados were given by Ciarcia in 1760 as 

 one of the tribes speaking the language 

 of his IManuai, i. e. Coahuiltecan. In 

 1780 Gov. Cabello reported the Paxa- 

 hitos, evidently the same as the Paja- 

 ritos, as a coast tribe s. of the mouth of 

 the Rio Grande. With them he enumer- 

 ated the Comecrudos, Texones, Guiana- 

 paquenos {sic), Manyatefios, Cotanans, 

 Aguichachas, and Cueros Quemados ( Rep. 

 on coast tribes, ]\Iay 28, 1780, Bexar Ar- 

 chives, Province of Texas), (h. e. b.) 



Pajarito Park (Span.: 'little bird', 

 adapted from the Tevva Tshirege, 'bird', 

 the name of an important ruin within the 

 limits of the tract) . Geographically, this 

 term stands for a high, park-like table- 

 land about 40 m. in length and from 15 

 to 25 m. in width, on the w. side of the 

 Rio Grande in x. New Mexico. It is 

 limited on the n. by the Rio Chama, on 

 the w. by the Jemez mts., and on the s. 

 by the Caiiada de Cochiti. It forms the 

 E. side of the Jemez plateau. The table- 

 land is of volcanic origin, its surface from 

 the base of the mountains eastward being 

 capped by a sheet of volcanic tufa, vary- 

 ing in thickness from 100 to 2,000 ft, 

 which had its origin as volcanic ash de- 

 posited from the ancient craters of the 

 Jemez range. These great tufa beds 

 A'ary in color from gray to yellow, and 

 geologically are of vast age. On the e. 

 rim of the s. part of the tableland, along 

 the Rio Grande, are extensive basaltic 

 extrusions of comparatively recent origin, 

 while the bluffs forming the e. rim of 

 the N. half are formed of the conglomer- 

 ates which mark the w. shore-line of the 

 Miocene lake that once occupied the 

 basin now known as Espafiola valley. 

 Recent basaltic extrusions also occur on 

 the X. rim of the park filong the Rio 

 Chama. The mean altitude of the park 

 is about 7,000 ft. The high w. side is 

 heavily forested with pine and spruce; 

 along the Rio Grande siile the mesas are 

 covered only with buffalo grass, while 

 between these two extremes lies a zone 

 lightly covered with pinon and juniper, 

 interspersed with stretches of open land. 

 This zone, now comparatively barren 

 from lack of water, was evidently covered 

 with tilled fields at some remote time. 

 Torrential erosion in past ages has dis- 

 sected this once continuous level table- 

 land into a series of narrow elevated par- 

 allel mesas, better descril)ed by the 

 Spanish term potrerox, extending out 

 from the mountains toward the Rio 

 Grande. These potreros vary in width 

 from a few j'ards to 2 or 3 m. and from 

 ^ m. to 5 m. in length. They present, 

 especially on the s. side, perpendicular 



escarpments of from 50 to 500 ft in 

 height, at the base of which is invariably 

 a long talus slope. The canyons lying 

 between the potreros are usually little 

 valleys from ^ m. to 1 m. in width, 

 divided by a now dry arroyo bordered 

 by a narrow, level and very fertile flood- 

 plain. These little valleys are now 

 lightly wooded, but show every evidence 

 of tillage in remote times. Pajarito 

 Park is now for the greater part devoid 

 of water except on the side at the base 

 of the mountains. The only streams 

 that carry their water to the Rio Grande 

 for any considerable part of the year are 

 the Santa Clara, the Bravo, and the Rito 

 de los Frijoles. Others sink in the sand 

 within a few miles of their source, and a 

 vast number carry water at all only 

 in flood season. There are very few 

 perennial springs in the park. The prin- 

 cipal canyons that cut through it from 

 w. to E. are as follows, beginning at the 

 N. : the Santa Clara, the Chupadero, the 

 Guages, the Alamo, the Pajarito, the 

 Rito de los Frijoles. Between them are 

 hundreds of smaller canyons. 



Ethnologically Pajarito Park is of great 

 importance. ll stands for a plainly 

 marked, prehistoric ethnic area, the in- 

 vestigation of which throws much light 

 on the ethnological problems of the S. W. 

 The zone of ancient habitation extends 

 from N. to s. the entire length of the 

 park. It is only from 5 to 10 m. in 

 width, and lies between the high tim- 

 bered western slope and the narrow bar- 

 ren eastern rim overlooking the Rio 

 Grande. The inhabited area did not 

 exceed 300 sq. m. in extent. 



The characteristic archeological re- 

 mains are the ancient pueblo ruins and 

 excavated cliff-dwellings. The latter 

 class of remains exists in vast numbers. 

 Almost every escarpment that presents a 

 southern exposure is honeycombed with 

 these dwellings (see Clljf'-dwellings) . Many 

 natural caves, originally formed by wa- 

 ter and wind erosion, have been utilized 

 for dwelling purposes, either with or 

 without modification, though usually 

 there has been some shaping by excava- 

 tion to render the home more commodi- 

 ous or convenient. In the form of lodge 

 generally found in the softer tufa forma- 

 tions, the entire front of the cave is open. 

 In some instances the front is closed by a 

 wall of masonry which is entered through 

 a small doorway with stone casing. An- 

 other form of cliff-houses of this same 

 general class, which exists here in even 

 greater numbers than those just described, 

 is the wholly excavated dwelling. These 

 are found in the firmer strata of tufa 

 where the walls are less liable to crumble. 

 In these a small doorway has been cut 

 into the perpendicular face of tVie cliff to 

 a depth of from 1 to 4 ft. The excava- 



