574 THE CLIFF VILLAGES OF THE RED ROCK COUNTRY. 



kin which were destroyed centuries ago. The ethnologist who reads 

 aright the evidences can no longer ascribe the custom of placing food 

 upon the grave as one derived from the Spaniards. It is aboriginal, 

 and, as we shall later see, was customary in Tusayan before a single 

 christian had trodden the soil of Tusayan. 



From the rich collection of objects which were brought to light by 

 my excavations at Awatobi, I will mention only a few of the more inter- 

 esting. The town was directly under Spanish influence sporadically 

 from 1540 to 1700, and it is not astonishing to find traces of this influ- 

 ence. During that time was built the Mission of San Bernardino, a 

 large building differing in architecture from the aboriginal houses. In 

 excavations near the ruins of this mission, I found metallic objects, a 

 rusty knife blade, copper fragments, nails, glass, and glazed pottery. 

 These and similar objects seem to have been introduced in considerable 

 quantity, considering the isolation of the province and its difficulty of 

 access. We may well suppose that the influence of the Catholic priests 

 on manners and customs was even greater than that indicated by the 

 foreign objects which were brought with them. At heart, no doubt 

 Awatobi was still pagan when the other pueblos destroyed it, and 

 the majority of the objects found are therefore strictly aboriginal in 

 character. 



The pottery which was collected at Awatobi belongs for the most 

 part to the fine yellow ware for which Tusayan is famous, with here 

 and there bowls made of black and white ware, the distinctive pottery 

 of the cliff builders. It consists of coarse coiled ware, cooking vessels, 

 and shoe-form vases, with ladles, jars, and anaphoras, numbering in 

 all about a hundred pieces. To articles made of clay baked in the sun 

 and fired by the heat of coal are referred bird-like pendants, some of 

 which are in the form of shell gorgets, painted and incised. • The Awa- 

 tobi priest used a cigar holder form of pipe, in which native tobacco 

 was smoked during ceremonials. 



A single small clay bell, similar in form to copper bells from Old 

 Mexico, is unique, having never before been duplicated in Tusayan 

 ruins. 



We know from historical sources that the Awatobi priests at the 

 time of the Conquest wore cotton kilts, and in early documents it is 

 stated that they presented many "cotton towels" to Antonio de Espejo 

 when he made his way to Tusayan in 1583. Although woven ropes were 

 found in one of the older houses, no cotton fabrics rewarded our search. 

 The ropes and strings which were found were made of the tough fiber 

 of the agave. The bones of the turkey and other birds were worked 

 into awls, bodkins, needles, and pins. Cut into sections, the leg bones 

 of birds were used as necklaces, and one of the longer of these sections 

 was pronounced by the Indians a whistle, such as is now employed in 

 the secret rites of the inhabited pueblos. 



The turquoise was prized then, as now, as an ornamental stone, and 



