AECH^OLOGICAL FIELD WORK IN ARIZONA IN 1897. 611 



tliem by means of irrigating ditclies, their surface often shows above 

 the cultivated fields of corn or alfalfa. Naturally the white farmer, 

 seeking to bring them under cultivation, endeavors to plow them down 

 to the level of the rest of his field, and this reduction can readily be 

 accomplished in a few years, as the clay is not very hard. As a result 

 a large number of the ancient mounds of Pueblo Yiejo have disap- 

 peared, and the sites of many old habitations are even now difiicult to 

 hnd. In the same way the burial mounds have likewise been leveled, 

 and it is only by chance — digging a ditch or excavating a cellar — that 

 the wealth of aboriginal objects below the surface of the ground is 

 discovered. 



A house wall built of earth, if not kept in repair, may last many 

 years, as those of Casa Grande, or tliey may rapidly sink to the ground 

 under the erosive action of rains. The old buildings of the Pueblo 

 Viejo have disappeared, and in late years all traces of them have been 

 obliterated by the farmers of the valley. The overflow of the Gila 

 Eiver, and the great torrents of water which have inundated the val- 

 ley, redistributing the soil, no doubt contributed to the destruction 

 and concealment of the mounds, especially those near the river banks. 



I have not found any ruined house cluster in Pueblo Viejo built on 

 an artificial platform for protection irom these floods, but it is possible 

 that they may be later found in this region, as they are said to occur 

 elsewhere in the valley. 



The desertion of Pueblo Viejo by the sedentary home-builders who 

 formerly lived there can be traced to the inroads of the Apaches. The 

 manner of life of the original inhabitants in the plain so exposed them 

 to attack that with the advent of a vigorous nomad stock they rapidly 

 melted away, fleeing, no doubt, to the inaccessible canyons north of 

 the valley or withdrawing from their farms to their kindred along the 

 Aravaypa and San Pedro. 



The houses of Pueblo Viejo valley were constructed of stone and 

 earth, of which the latter predominated. The rocks employed were 

 river washed, rounded stones, and not angular fragments, like those 

 used elsewhere. The ancient builders adopted the building material 

 at hand. Evidently small bowlders, such as are found in Pueblo Viejo, 

 could not be used in constructing a wall of any height without using 

 much more adobe than was necessary with angular rocks, and tliere was 

 a great abundance of clay ready for use. The result was that while 

 stones were used for foundations and for strengthening the walls, clay 

 gave the walls form and finish. In the weathering of these structures, 

 the foundation row of stones still remain in their original positions, 

 where they are now exposed in almost every mound. Such a row of 

 foundation stones extends across a street in Solomonville, near Mr. 

 Kelly's printing office. Tie earth walls and the stones they contained, 

 were still further strengthened at intervals by upright cedar logs, which 

 helped to support the roof. These logs, when the earth wore out 



