A NEW NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY EXPEDITION 



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most prehistoric ruin in the United 

 States. It is the largest of the ruins, the 

 most complex in design, the most impres- 

 sive. It seems to tell most clearly the 

 unwritten story of the forgotten people 

 who once dwelt within its silent walls. It 

 covers an area approximately that of the 

 United States Capitol. Its 800 rooms prob- 

 ably sheltered from 1,000 to 1,200 souls. 

 These mysterious tenants tilled the soil 

 of the broad, level canyon floor; they 

 hunted deer and antelope on the mesas 

 overlooking the valley ; they probably 

 waged war on the Navajo, the Philistines 

 who pressed upon them from the north. 



ruins are deposit vaults of ceramic 

 treasures 



Already ceramic remains of rare ar- 

 tistry have been taken from Pueblo 

 Bonito, exquisite ornaments of jet and 

 turquoise mosaic, tools and utensils of 

 bone, stone, and wood. Tons of earth 

 and stone have been removed in search 

 of material. Yet the great ruin still 

 guards priceless secrets. The architec- 

 ture remains to be studied and further 

 evidence of the pursuits of its people 

 needs to be found and interpreted. 



Less than a city block west of Pueblo 

 Bonito is Pueblo del Arroyo, occupying 

 a perilous position, as indicated by its 

 name ; for the wash, or arroyo, which 

 passes the structure threatens to cut 

 away the bank upon which the ruin is 

 situated. The pueblo virtually is virgin 

 soil for the investigator. It probably 

 stood four stories high. The upper story 

 is gone, the first is buried, leaving only 

 the second and third exposed. 



It possesses characteristics that make 

 all the ruins noteworthy and one, in ad- 

 dition, of paramount importance. Be- 

 neath the pueblo, exposed only by the 

 caving of the arroyo bank, is a dwelling 

 of the "small-house" type noted above. 

 It is considered that two periods of oc- 

 cupancy at one site, each with its distinc- 

 tive remains, offers an unparalleled op- 

 portunity for study of culture sequence. 

 So far as is known, this is the only in- 

 stance in Chaco Canyon where such 

 superposition occurs. The fortunate 

 proximity of Pueblo del Arroyo and Pu- 

 eblo Bonito affords one advantage to the 

 expedition in a region where many handi- 

 caps must be overcome. 



Geographically the Chaco Canyon ruins 

 have a special interest. They denote ad- 

 mirably the exceptional characteristics 

 that result from an exceptional environ- 

 ment. Being a people hemmed in by nat- 

 ural barriers, their area of activity was 

 restricted. 



They were able to meet their material 

 needs by expending only a fraction of 

 their energy. Hence the surplus found 

 expression in religious ritual, attested by 

 the great ceremonial chambers ; in archi- 

 tectural monuments, as did that of the 

 European cathedral builders of the Mid- 

 dle Ages ; and in ceramics, which flour- 

 ished there as never before or since, for 

 the black and white ware of the Chaco 

 Canyon has been cited as marking the 

 high point of this art in the Southwest. 



Other departments of science may be 

 expected to profit by results of the Chaco 

 Canyon investigations. The excavations 

 and repairs of the ruins, their architec- 

 ture and masonry, fall under the head of 

 archeology. What is learned of their 

 builders, where they came from, how 

 long they stayed in the canyon, and 

 where they went are questions related to 

 ethnology. 



The Chaco Canyon is a desert today, 

 unwatered except by floods in the rainy 

 season. The geologist must be • relied 

 upon to describe conditions of water sup- 

 ply and crops when the great houses were 

 occupied. Specialists in desert flora must 

 cooperate with the geologists in an effort 

 to picture the economic life of these an- 

 cients. Only by the combined findings 

 of these various experts can it be deter- 

 mined whether the inhabitants left be- 

 cause natural changes threatened their 

 food supply, or whether falling cliff 

 masses impressed their superstitious 

 minds as being omens of evil. 



Being within the Chaco Canyon Na- 

 tional Monument, the Pueblo Bonito and 

 Pueblo del Arroyo ruins are reserved and 

 protected for the American people. The 

 National Geographic Society's investiga- 

 tions, made possible under a permit 

 granted by the Secretary of the Interior, 

 therefore constitute a gift to the public. 



The excavations, at the expense of The 

 Society, should solve many of the prob- 

 lems now apparent. Repairs will prevent 

 rapid disintegration of the walls and in- 

 sure longer life to the ruins. 



