NO. 12 



SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I917 



131 



to conclude that the Mesa A'erde pueblos were deserted earlier than 

 the McElmo. or that the latter were constructed later, either of which 

 suppositions has a bearing on the chronology of the prehistoric 

 culture in the San Juan \'alley. By the same reasoning the consoli- 

 dated villages of pure type like Aztec would be regarded as more 

 modern than the pueblos of the ]\Iesa \'erde. 



Another feature in the Yellow Jacket Canyon ruin, as compared 

 with the Chaco and other great pueblos situated near the horizon of 

 the pure type in Xew Mexico, may be significant. Castellate buildings 

 referable to the " great house '' type have not been recorded south of 



Fig. 136. — Cliff-dwelling. Hackberry group. Photograph l>y J. W'irsula. 



the San Juan; towers are found. Init they are less numerous. These 

 types in the San Juan region, each s])ecialized for specific purposes, 

 when contrasted with the unifnnniu in the architecture of historic 

 pueblos in Xew .Mexico, are likewise significant. The '" great house," 

 like the " pure ty])e," is prehistoric ; nothing comparable to it has 

 been identified in modern pueblos. 



It is prett\' generally believed that, in order to sup])ort the large 

 jjopulation imjjlied b\- the number and size of these .Mcb'lmo-'S'ellow 

 Jacket ruin>. ihcir farm^ on nciL^bboring mesas were tormcrh' licUrr 

 watered. The conclusion is sometimes reached that there has been 

 a climatic change or desiccation that has driven out the aboriginal 

 dry farmer, .\ttention. however, should l)e called to the fact that 

 .\merican drv farmers arc now successfnllx cnltixating thc-e ])i-e- 



