72 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 68 



taining the bones of the embryo, ceremonially buried with a food 

 bowl, as well as bones of the adult fowl. Eagles were likewise 

 ceremonially buried, and domesticated puppies were given place of 

 interment with the human occupants of Hawikuh. A curious struc- 

 ture of stone slabs on the bottom of the refuse-heap was probably 

 used for imprisoning rattlesnakes (fig. ^2). Early Spanish writers 

 mention such a custom at Hawikuh, and one of them states that 

 the rattlesnakes were thus kept in order that their venom might be 

 used for poisoning arrows. 



A summary of all the interesting discoveries at Hawikuh is not 

 possible in this brief space, nor is it desirable to offer conjectures 

 respecting the significance of some of the features of the ruin or of 

 various objects found in the course of the season's work, for much 

 remains to be done before the task will approach completion. The 

 excavations were brought to a close late in August and will be con- 

 tinued next season. 



ANCIENT PIT DWELLINGS IN NEW MEXICO 



Dr. Walter Hough, of the National Museum, spent the month of 

 June, 1917, chiefly in continuation of an investigation on certain 

 remains of ancient pit dwellings near Luna, New Mexico, mentioned 

 in Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 66, No. 17, 1916 

 (1917). Excavations were made in various parts of the area with 

 the expectation of finding burials, accompanying skeletons and 

 mortuary objects, but with small results. Sufficient information was 

 secured, however, to give a fair knowledge of the structure of the 

 houses and their arrangement into a village as shown in figure 75. 

 This restoration is a summation of the data acquired through excava- 

 tion and survey concerning the former aspect of the village. There 

 is no evidence that the great dance pit was stockaded, but it is a 

 reasonable presumption that this great pit, 84 feet in diameter and 

 10 feet deep, would require an enclosure. Dr. Hough is preparing 

 a report on this interesting find. During the season another site 

 containing about 15 acres was located about seven miles north of 

 Luna, and it is probable that other sites may be found in the general 

 region. The finding of ancient villages of this character is very diffi- 

 cult as they present few surface features by which they may be 

 identified. Of these the shallow concave of a larger pit (dance or 

 assembly pit) is generally the only evidence and this may be oblit- 

 erated when the site was occupied subsequently by other tribes. 



