452 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. III. No. 64. 



ures) Paleozoic column, and entered mica schist, 

 which is regarded as Archean in age. Estimates 

 from this boring give about 3,000 feet as the 

 total thickness of the Paleozoic. 



Microscopic Characters of the Fisher Meteorite 

 {Minnesota No. 1): By N. H. Winchell. This 

 jneteorite fell in Polk County, in northwestern 

 Minnesota, April 9, 1894. It is a chondritic 

 stone made up largely of olivine and enstatite, 

 and contains a comparatively small amount of 

 iron. Two apparently isotropic substances oc- 

 cur in the meteorite, one of which may be 

 maskelynite ; but the conclusions concerning 

 these substances and the chemical composition 

 of the stone will be discussed in a later paper. 



The number closes with the usual reviews 

 and notes. Of special interest, however, is the 

 review of Nordenskjold's important paper on 

 the Swedish hiilleflintas, largely pre-Cambrian 

 lavas. In this review are some interesting re- 

 marks concerning the devitrification of glass, 

 and reference is made to some phenomena of 

 devitrification recently observed at Bryn Mawr 

 College. 



SOCIETIES AND ACADEMIES. 



PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON, FEB- 

 RUAEY 29, 1896. 



Dr. J. Walter Fewkes read a communica- 

 tion on the Prehistoric Culture of Tusayan. He 

 regarded archasology as the only means of ob- 

 taining accurate knowledge in regard to the 

 subject, and considered documentary history, 

 study of surviving legends and modern prac- 

 tices as tributary and necessary sources of infor- 

 mation. Archa3ological evidences of the char- 

 acter of ancient life in Tusayan were drawn 

 from excavations at Sikyatki, a ruined pueblo 

 near Walpi, which was investigated by an ex- 

 pedition sent out last summer by the Smith- 

 sonian Institution under the lead of the speaker. 

 The material unearthed from this ruin was a 

 large collection of pottery of rare excellence 

 and many objects illustrative of prehistoric 

 Tusayan industries. 



The evidences that Sikyatki was overthrown 

 previous to the coming of the Spaniards into 

 Tusayan in the middle of the sixteenth century 

 were discussed, and shown to amply prove that 

 the pueblo was destroyed in prehistoric times. 



The great value of the objects from this ruin 

 was therefore held to be that they indicate prehis- 

 toric culture, without European influences. The 

 ceramics of Sikyatki are far superior to modern 

 Tusayan pottery, and excel in fineness of ware, 

 symmetry of form and artistic beauty of decora- 

 tion those of any aboriginal tribe of America 

 north of Mexico. 



The reason of the fineness of this wsye and 

 the possibility that coal was used in firing it 

 were discussed. The identity of prehistoric 

 and modern mortuary customs, as indicated 

 by the objects taken from Sikyatki graves, was 

 interpreted to mean a similarity of ancient con- 

 ceptions of death and a future life. Current 

 modern beliefs on this subject were discussed 

 and applied to an interpretation of ancient 

 customs. 



It was held by the speaker that the symbolic 

 designs on this ancient pottery should be con- 

 sidered a body of prehistoric picture writing or 

 paleography,' and that the aim of the student 

 should be to interpret it. He likened this sym- 

 bolism to ancient records, and claimed that 

 from them could be obtained a knowledge of 

 mythological conceptions and ancestral rituals. 

 The pictures of several animistic and other gods 

 still recognized in modern Tusayan mythology 

 were instanced and compared with modern 

 figures. This ancient pictography likewise 

 shows the antiquity of peculiar methods of 

 dressing the hair. 



The resemblance of certain geometric designs 

 to those on the pottery from the great ruins of 

 the Gila valley and the cliflF dwellings of the 

 Mesa Verde was pointed out and the impor- 

 tance of such likeness discussed. 



Dr. Fewkes spoke of a large number of mor- 

 tuary prayer-sticks or pahos in Sikyatki graves, 

 which he compared with modern and found a 

 great conservatism in their form, size, color and 

 appendages. He believed these resemblances 

 meant a similarity in ancient and modern con- 

 ceptions of the priests who made them. The ex- 

 istence of other ceremonial paraphernalia, iden- 

 tical with those still used in the modern Tusayan 

 ritual, was likewise pointed out. A knowledge 

 of modern mythology and ritual he regarded 

 as necessary for anyone who would do good 

 work on the archaeology of the Southwest. 



