716 Rock-Inseriptions of ** Ancient Pueblos.” [December, 
ROCK-INSCRIPTIONS OF THE “ANCIENT PUEBLOS” OF 
COLORADO, UTAH, NEW MEXICO, AND ARIZONA. 
BY EDWIN A. BARBER. 
b Ges picture-writings or hieroglyphics of this ancient architect- 
ural and agricultural race consisted of ¢deographs, or symbols 
representing ideas, the object pictured standing for the word to 
be expressed. So we can see that the method employed for re- 
cording events was very imperfect and limited, reaching scarcely 
beyond the nouns, although in some cases they represented action, 
or verbs, as in the sketching of men dancing or running. By a 
careful study of these pictographs and rock-etchings, much rel- 
ative to these people can be obtained, although many of the sym- 
bols are not decipherable. Indeed, it has not been proved that 
there was any regularity or method in thus recording events; 
we know not whether each historian used a peculiar mode of his 
own for the transmission of ideas, or whether there was a recog- 
nized plan which'the most educated of the tribe adopted. 
I noticed that throughout those ancient inscriptions which are 
undoubtedly coeval with the ruined buildings and which appear 
in their vicinity, a common representation was that of an animal 
closely resembling the domestic goat. This may have been in- 
tended for the Rocky Mountain sheep or big-horn, as this animal 
was plentiful throughout the country four centuries ago, although 
now it does not occur along the valley of the San Juan River. 
The horns are represented as long, heavy, and curved backwards. 
As the goat is not indigenous to America, the flocks or herds of 
the ancients consisted probably of some of the domesticated wild 
animals which abounded in that country. The Rocky Mountain 
goat is in reality an antelope; the big-horn once roamed through 
Arizona and the mountains of New Mexico. We discover from 
the accounts of the early Spaniards, who penetrated through this 
country, that many tribes of Indians which peopled it possessed 
flocks and herds, though of what nature, we are not informed. 
Many of the natives clothed themselves in garments made of the 
hair of the wild sheep, while other tribes wore cotton clothing. 
Coronado in 1540 wrote of the country of Cibola or Zuñi, “ Here 
are also wild goats, whose heads likewise I have seen.” These 
were probably the Rocky Mountain goats or sheep. Gomara 
(another Spaniard) remarks in his history relative to this coun- 
try, about the same time, “ There are also great dogs which will 
fight with a bull, and will carry fifty pounds’ weight in sacks 
