NO. 3 ARCHEOLOGICAL INVESTIGATIONS AT PARAGONAH — JUDD 21 



siderable vein of this material is said to exist in tlie Escalante Desert, 

 northwest of Rush Lake and about 20 miles west of Paragonah. 



Two or three small masses of sulphur were also found among the 

 house remains. None of these, however, bears any mark which 

 would suggest that the mineral had been intended for, or put to, a 

 definite use. It would appear most likely that the original collector 

 had been attracted merely by the color of the stone and carried it 

 to the village under the assumption that it could be ground into 

 paint. 



A few fragments of ore-bearing rock were recovered at the same, 

 time. These were utilized solely as hammer-stones and are not, as 

 might be inferred, evidence that the ancient house builders possessed 

 knowledge of smelting processes. Implements and ornaments of 

 metal are entirely unknown among the Utah ruins — persistent local 

 contentions to the contrary — and they have never been discovered 

 in pre-Spanish villages in any other section of the Southwest, except- 

 ing, of course, those few southern Arizona and New Mexico locali- 

 ties that had established inter-tribal communication with the peoples 

 of central Mexico. The highly colored stories so widely circulated 

 throughout Utah regarding the discovery of gold, silver, and iron 

 artifacts in purely prehistoric ruins are deliberate fabrications whose 

 chief purpose seems to be the willful deception of the most credulous. 

 Tales of this sort have frequently acted as a spur to those seeking 

 supposed fabulous riches and are directly responsible for the wanton 

 destruction of many aboriginal remains whose historical value cannot 

 be over estimated. 



SUMMARY 



Certainly the chief result of the recent Smithsonian Institution- 

 University of Utah expedition was the successful exposure of some 

 40 odd houses and numerous associated structures, comprising the 

 greater part of an extensive prehistoric village. These were of 

 entirely distinct types, grouped to form a single compact community ; 

 their apparently studied arrangement and the obvious relationship 

 between them and the nearby, circular rooms is evidence that definite 

 social and religious principles governed the daily life of their 

 occupants. The more permanent dwellings were of adobe, built up 

 usually in courses and smoothed or plastered on the inside ; the 

 secondary buildings may be described as brush shelters — the living 

 quarters of the villagers — in which were performed most of their 



these salty deposits were mistaken for " whitewash " ; the " paintings " may be 

 wholly or in part the product of the imagination. 



