AECH^OLOGICAL FIELD WORK IN ARIZONA IN 1897. 621 



adjoiniug- the southern border of the Apache Eeservation. Early last 

 summer my attention was called by letters to discoveries made by 

 young men from Pima in a cave in that region, and as soon as I was 

 settled in Solomonville I visited Pima to inspect the collection that had 

 been procured by them from this region. 



I found that it had been divided into about four equal parts, and 

 two of these parts, which were almost complete could be purchased. 

 Eecognizing the value of the objects offered for sale, they were obtained 

 at a reasonable rate. The original collection contained not far from 

 one hundred and fifty specimens of pottery, and many shell beads, 

 obsidian arrowheads, and turquoises. All these objects were taken 

 from one cave, and were evidently ancient.^ 



The majority of the specimens in this collection were flat clay disks, 

 and platters, of undecorated red ware, and a few globular bowls of the 

 same color. These objects were found on benches of rock in the cave, 

 where water was continually dripping upon them. As the water con- 

 tained lime in solution a film of calcareous matter had covered most 

 of the pottery objects, but unfortunately this deiwsit had, in most 

 instances, been rubbed off', although in a few cases it still remained. 

 The objects removed were said to be only a portion of those seen in the 

 cave, the broken fragments having been left behind. 



The turquoises and shell beads, which no doubt had been placed in 

 the platters, were strewn about the floor of the cave, some of them still 

 remaining where they were deposited. The red ware from this cave is 

 identical with that at present made by the Pimas and Maricopas, and 

 the same as that from the ruins along the Little Colorado Eiver. 



One of the most exceptional forms of pottery found in this cave was 

 a gray vase with head, body, and arms of a female buman figure in 

 relief. Tlie vase is made of coarse paste and is undecorated with the 

 exception of parallel white lines on the cheeks, which recall markings 

 on the helmets of certain Pueblo Katcinas. The treatment of the 

 figure in relief on this vase betrays Mexican influence. 



Among other objects from this cave a clay cylinder covered with 

 projecting knobs, and a globular jar decorated with rows of small pits, 

 were the most striking. Several of the vessels had holes about the rim 

 as if for suspension, and all were small, as is the case with bowls used 

 for sacrificial purposes. In fact, the whole collectioabore evidence that 

 it was sacrificial in nature, and from the small size of the individual 

 specimens we could hardly suppose they ever had any other use. 



CONCLUSIONS. 



There is little to guide us from historical sources regarding the age 

 of the ruins in this valley. In 1697 the valley of Pueblo Viejo was des- 

 titute of sedentary people, being overrun by Apaches, for in that year 



1 From what could be learned there is little doubt that this cave has many like- 

 nesses to the sacrificial cave in the Graham Mountains; already described. 



