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007 - Explorations and Excavations Pt 1 · Aztec Ruins National Monument, New Mexico

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  Speaker 1: Section six of Aztec Rowans National Monument, New Mexico. This
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  Speaker 1: is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
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  Speaker 1: public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
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  Speaker 1: LibriVox dot org. Aztec Rwans National Monument, New Mexico by
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  Speaker 1: John M. Corbett Explorations and Excavations, Part one. Despite popular opinion,
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  Speaker 1: and despite the name applied to the Ruins, the Indians
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  Speaker 1: who built this ancient pueblo were not related to the
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  Speaker 1: warlike Aztecs of Mexico. In the late eighteen hundreds, there
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  Speaker 1: was considerable interest in the seemingly mysterious Aztec, toll TECs
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  Speaker 1: and other Indians of Mexico. The writings of Stephens Prescott
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  Speaker 1: and others had fired imaginations and new communities, particularly those
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  Speaker 1: the vicinity of Indian Ruins, were often given names of
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  Speaker 1: Indian groups from south of the border. So it was
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  Speaker 1: with the town of Aztec. When white settlers first moved
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  Speaker 1: into the Animus Valley, they were intrigued by the great
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  Speaker 1: Stone ruins, believing them to be the work of a
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  Speaker 1: long vanished race from the south, they named their town Aztec.
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  Speaker 1: The ruins, in turn became known as those ruins at Aztec,
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  Speaker 1: or simply as the Aztec Ruins, and so the name
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  Speaker 1: remains today. We know now that the Aztecs of Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: whom Cortez conquered, had nothing to do with these ruins.
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  Speaker 1: In fact, they were built and abandoned several centuries before Cortes,
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  Speaker 1: and even before the Aztecs themselves were well established in
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  Speaker 1: the valley of Mexico. The earliest reference to ruins along
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  Speaker 1: the Animus River in the vicinity of Aztec is found
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  Speaker 1: on the map of Escolanti's expedition in seventeen seventy six
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  Speaker 1: to seventy seven. On that map, the cartographer Meira E
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  Speaker 1: Pachico has written, in between the lines representing the Animis
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  Speaker 1: and Florida Rivers the following. The branches of these two
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  Speaker 1: rivers are capable of being inhabited by very large populations,
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  Speaker 1: as is shown by the ruins of very ancient towns.
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  Speaker 1: It is doubtful that Escolanti or any of his party
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  Speaker 1: actually saw the Aztec ruins themselves, since the map would
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  Speaker 1: indicate that they were well known at that particular spot,
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  Speaker 1: probably somewhere in the vicinity of the present day Durango. Further,
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  Speaker 1: the Escolanti map shows the Rio Florida as flowing directly
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  Speaker 1: into the San Juan, where actually it flows into the Animus. Likewise,
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  Speaker 1: it shows what are now known as the La Plata
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  Speaker 1: and Mancos rivers as flowing into the Animus, whereas they
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  Speaker 1: flowed directly into the San Juan. If any Esclante party
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  Speaker 1: had followed these streams or the Animus to their juncture
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  Speaker 1: with the San Juan, these mistakes would not have been
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  Speaker 1: made on the map, so the party was therefore have
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  Speaker 1: been well known of what is now Aztec. Possibly other
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  Speaker 1: earlier explorers may have passed near or bid the Aztec ruins,
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  Speaker 1: but the next recorded visit occurred on August fourth, eighteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty nine, when doctor drawn Strong Newbury visited the site. Newbury,
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  Speaker 1: like many of the nineteenth century men of science, was
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  Speaker 1: a man of many talents. He graduated from Western Reserve
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  Speaker 1: University in eighteen forty six, then obtained a degree in medicine,
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  Speaker 1: and later studied geology at Paris. At one time or
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  Speaker 1: another he was associated with the Smithsonian Institution and also
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  Speaker 1: taught geology at Columbian now George Washington University. In eighteen
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  Speaker 1: fifty nine, he accompanied Captain T. N. Macombe, a topographical
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  Speaker 1: engineer on an exploring trip from Santa Fe to the
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  Speaker 1: junction of the Grand now upper reaches of the Colorado
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  Speaker 1: River and Green Rivers, where they formed the Colorado River.
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  Speaker 1: The following paragraph about the Aztec Ruins is taken from
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  Speaker 1: his account of this trip. The principal structures are large foreblows,
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  Speaker 1: handsomely built of stone, and in a pretty good state
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  Speaker 1: of preservation. The external walls are composed of yellow cretaceous sandstone,
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  Speaker 1: dressed to a common school service without hammer barks. In
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  Speaker 1: some places they are still twenty five feet in height,
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  Speaker 1: As usual in buildings of this kind. The walls were
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  Speaker 1: unbroken by door or window, to a height of fifteen
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  Speaker 1: feet above the foundation. The interior shows a great number
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  Speaker 1: of small rooms, many of which are in a perfect
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  Speaker 1: state of preservation and handsomely plastered. These structures are surrounded
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  Speaker 1: by mounds and fragments of masonry, marking the sites of
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  Speaker 1: great numbers of subordinate buildings, the whole affording conclusive evidence
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  Speaker 1: that a large population once had its home here. White
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  Speaker 1: settlement of the valley around the ruins area began in
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  Speaker 1: eighteen seventy six, and from that time on the ruins
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  Speaker 1: have been well known. The first scientific investigations of the
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  Speaker 1: ruins were made in eighteen seventy eight, when Lewis H.
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  Speaker 1: Morgan visited the site and later published a description with
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  Speaker 1: a good ground plan. Morgan, sometimes known as the Father
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  Speaker 1: of American anthropology, was one of the most distinguished scientists
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  Speaker 1: of the nineteenth century. He is well known for his
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  Speaker 1: ethnological study of the Iroquois Indians in New York. Though
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  Speaker 1: usually thought of as a social anthropologist, Morgan had a
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  Speaker 1: great and abiding interest in archeology, particularly that of the
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  Speaker 1: southwestern part of what is now the United States, Mexico,
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  Speaker 1: and Central America. On his trip to the Southwest in
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  Speaker 1: eighteen seventy eight, he kept a journal full of observations
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  Speaker 1: and notes about the various ruins which we visited. In
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  Speaker 1: those days, the railroad extended only to Canyon City, Colorado,
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  Speaker 1: and from there Morgan and his party had to proceed
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  Speaker 1: by wagon. One of the ruins which especially seemed to
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  Speaker 1: intrigue Morgan was the one on the Animous River, which
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  Speaker 1: we now call Aztec. He only made a ground plan
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  Speaker 1: of the entire ruin, but noted that there were other
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  Speaker 1: structures of considerable size and interest in the immediate vicinity.
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  Speaker 1: He also entered some of the rooms, particularly in the
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  Speaker 1: west wing of the larger ruin, which still had their
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  Speaker 1: ceilings intact even at that time. Evidently a good bit
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  Speaker 1: of the ruin had already been destroyed by the early settlers.
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  Speaker 1: For Morgan records the fact that one man at Animas
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  Speaker 1: City who had lived near the ruins told him that
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  Speaker 1: about one quarter of the stones had been taken away
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  Speaker 1: by the settlers to use in building houses, lining walls,
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  Speaker 1: or for other construction purposes. Morgan also talks about entering
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  Speaker 1: rooms on the second story, so presumably some of the
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  Speaker 1: upper stories may still have been intact in eighteen seventy eight.
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  Speaker 1: In eighteen ninety two, Warren K. Moorhead visited the Aztec ruins,
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  Speaker 1: studied them, and in nineteen o eight he published an
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  Speaker 1: article and sketch map in the American Anthropologist. Morehead is
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  Speaker 1: better known for his work among the prehistoric mounds and
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  Speaker 1: temples in southeastern United States, then for investigations in the Southwest,
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  Speaker 1: but he was a competent archaeologist and keen observer of
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  Speaker 1: prehistoric remains. He and his party, like the other early explorers,
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  Speaker 1: were evidently able to enter a number of intact rooms.
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  Speaker 1: He says twenty or thirty apartments. In nineteen fifteen, doctor N. C. Nelson,
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  Speaker 1: who was then Curator of Archaeology for the American Museum
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  Speaker 1: of Natural History, examined the ruins and was impressed by
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  Speaker 1: their potential of further intensive investigations. At this time, the
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  Speaker 1: museum was undertaking the arch m Huntington Survey of the Southwest,
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  Speaker 1: one of the objectives of which was to make an
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  Speaker 1: intensive study of a large pueblocite. Because of Nelson's recommendations,
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  Speaker 1: permission was obtained in nineteen sixteen from the owner, HD
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  Speaker 1: Abrams declared a brush and weeds, and to make trial excavations,
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  Speaker 1: the expense of this undertaking being borne by J. P. Morgan.
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  Speaker 1: As a result of these preliminary investigations, the Museum decided
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  Speaker 1: that complete excavation and repair of the West Ruin was desirable,
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  Speaker 1: not only for the purpose of procuring data on the
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  Speaker 1: culture of its ancient builders, but also in order that
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  Speaker 1: it might be preserved as a permanent exhibit. As a result,
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  Speaker 1: the museum engaged the services of Morris, who, over the
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  Speaker 1: next five years devoted his time and attention to very
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  Speaker 1: careful excavations of the West Ruin. However, some thirty five
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  Speaker 1: years before Morris undertook his excavations, an interesting, in somewhat
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  Speaker 1: protudous event occurred at the old Ruins that caused them
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  Speaker 1: to gain notoriety, at least locally. By eighteen eighty the
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  Speaker 1: settlers in the valley, concerned about the education of their children,
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  Speaker 1: had established a small one room school. Sherman As Howe,
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  Speaker 1: long resident of the animous area, was one of the
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  Speaker 1: first boys to attend this school, and in nineteen forty seven,
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  Speaker 1: a few years before his death, he recorded for posterity
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  Speaker 1: his remembrances of the valley and the first real exploration
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  Speaker 1: of the Aztec ruins. A school teacher named Johnson, who
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  Speaker 1: hailed from Michigan and who must have been quite a
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  Speaker 1: remarkable man for his day, was greatly intrigued by the ruins.
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  Speaker 1: Sometime during the winter of eighteen eighty one to eighty two,
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  Speaker 1: he encouraged the school children to go out with him
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  Speaker 1: for a day on a trip to explore the ruins.
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  Speaker 1: How remembers the event well, for although he was among
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  Speaker 1: the younger boys, he was also among the first to
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  Speaker 1: volunteer to go the following Saturday, about seven or eight
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  Speaker 1: of the boys arrived at the Aztec Ruins with picks, shovels,
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  Speaker 1: and a crowbar to meet with the teacher. As how
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  Speaker 1: used to tell it, it was snowing a little and
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  Speaker 1: quite cold. We went into a second story room more
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  Speaker 1: than half full of dirt, and began digging down at
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  Speaker 1: the corner of the room. We struck the second floor
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  Speaker 1: at about five feet and broke a hole through about
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  Speaker 1: two and a half feet in diameter, but could see
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  Speaker 1: nothing but a black dungeon below. There was a prolonged
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  Speaker 1: debate about the depth of it, what might be at
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  Speaker 1: the bottom, and how a person could ever get back
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  Speaker 1: if he did go down there. Some thought it might
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  Speaker 1: be full of rats, skunks, bats, or rattlesnakes. We could
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  Speaker 1: imagine a hundred things. I believe the dread of ghosts
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  Speaker 1: was the worst. How evidently wanted to be the first
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  Speaker 1: one down, but the teacher felt it would be better
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  Speaker 1: if one of the older boys went first, so one
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  Speaker 1: was selected and lowered on a rope. Naturally, at the
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  Speaker 1: last moment, the boy was a little hesitant of our
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  Speaker 1: being lowered into a dark hole, which, after being sealed
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  Speaker 1: ear tight for centuries, had a musty odor which was
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  Speaker 1: not at all pleasant. Finally, however, having been teased by
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  Speaker 1: his friends, he dropped down into the room. Soon the
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  Speaker 1: rest of the boys also, getting down the best way
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  Speaker 1: they could. As how described it, we were in a room,
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  Speaker 1: a clean room, with ceiling and walls, open doorways, all
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  Speaker 1: just as they had left. We were walking on floors
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  Speaker 1: which had not been trodden by human feet for centuries.
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  Speaker 1: There was an open door leading into the next room
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  Speaker 1: to the northwest. It was also clean and imperfect condition.
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  Speaker 1: There was no trash on the floor, no ashes, not
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  Speaker 1: even a scrap of pottery. Mister Johnson seemed disappointed and puzzled.
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  Speaker 1: Who were these people who built those large buildings and
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  Speaker 1: such splendid rooms. Did they not leave something behind that
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  Speaker 1: would give us some information? Could they not write so,
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  Speaker 1: give us some description of themselves? Were a bit of history?
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  Speaker 1: Such thoughts and questions as these were racing through the
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  Speaker 1: mind of our teacher. He was thinking aloud and making
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  Speaker 1: us do some thinking. Also. I felt very nervous and
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  Speaker 1: uncomfortable down in that dark, dismal place, disappointed at not
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  Speaker 1: finding anything in these verse two rooms. The teacher and
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  Speaker 1: his boys broke a hole through one of the walls
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  Speaker 1: into a third room next door. This room two had
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  Speaker 1: been sealed for many centuries, and the candles they had
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  Speaker 1: brought would not burn properly until enough fresh air had
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  Speaker 1: circulated through the hole in the wall. But this room
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  Speaker 1: held a surprise for the boys. Bit by bit, as
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  Speaker 1: their candles burned better, the room became brighter and thin.
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  Speaker 1: Well we could see across the room there was a
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  Speaker 1: human skeleton facing us, with its back to the wall.
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  Speaker 1: It had been placed. There was no wrappings around whatever.
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  Speaker 1: It was not mummified, but the ligaments had dried, holding
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  Speaker 1: the bones in place. Except that the head had tilted
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  Speaker 1: back and was resting against the wall. There was some
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  Speaker 1: dried skin and hair lying around it. The body had
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  Speaker 1: been flexed in the usual manner, but instead of wrapping
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  Speaker 1: and tying in the matting, as the custom was, it
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  Speaker 1: seemed to have been just placed there nude. We all
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  Speaker 1: stood motionless, nobody saying a word. It must be that
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  Speaker 1: we were struck dumb with awe, and that we were
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  Speaker 1: debating in our minds whether to stand our ground or retreat.
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  Speaker 1: This was as much as the boys and the teacher
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  Speaker 1: could do in the short time. They had the first
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  Speaker 1: day out at the ruins, but they all agreed that
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  Speaker 1: they would meet again the following Saturday and continue their explorations. However,
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  Speaker 1: during the week, the boys had told their parents about
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  Speaker 1: what they were doing, and the next Saturday when house
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  Speaker 1: showed up, there was a crowd of older men present
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  Speaker 1: who quickly began to break into a number of other rooms.
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  Speaker 1: Ow remembers entering one room with them. We entered the
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  Speaker 1: rooms through the hole in the floor and passed through
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  Speaker 1: the open doorway into the northwest room. We broke a
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  Speaker 1: hole through the wall and entered the room to the northeast,
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  Speaker 1: and there we really did see things. I got into
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  Speaker 1: that room and stood trying my best to take it
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  Speaker 1: all in and see everything I could, while that excited
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  Speaker 1: crowd were rummaging it, scattering and turning everything into a mess.
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  Speaker 1: There were thirteen skeletons, ranging from infants to adults. The
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  Speaker 1: infants were two in number. The skulls had not knit together,
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  Speaker 1: one of them had two teeth. All were wrapped in
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  Speaker 1: matting similar to that around tea chests that come from
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  Speaker 1: China and tied with strings made from fiber of the
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  Speaker 1: yucca plant. They were large pieces of cotton cloth. Most
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  Speaker 1: of it was plain, resembling our ten ounce stuck. It
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  Speaker 1: was in good state of preservation, except that it was
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  Speaker 1: somewhat colored with age. Some of the cloth had a
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  Speaker 1: colored red design and stripes. There was also some feather
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  Speaker 1: cloth and several pieces of matting of various types. There
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  Speaker 1: were several baskets, some of the best I have ever seen,
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  Speaker 1: all well preserved. There were a lot of sandals, some
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  Speaker 1: very good, others showing considerable wear. There was a large
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  Speaker 1: quantity of pottery, all may severity. Some of the pottery
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  Speaker 1: was very pretty and new looking. There were a great
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  Speaker 1: many beads and ornaments. I cannot give a description of these,
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  Speaker 1: as I had no opportunity to examine them closely. I
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  Speaker 1: remember seeing quite a lot of turquoise. There were a
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  Speaker 1: number of stone axes, polished and much nicer in appearance
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  Speaker 1: than the average type found in this vicinity. There were
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  Speaker 1: also skinning knives so called, and sandal last cushions of rings.
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  Speaker 1: They wore on their heads for carrying burdens. Some made
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  Speaker 1: of yucca, nicely woven or braided, some made very plain
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  Speaker 1: in coils of yucker's strips tied in various places to
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  Speaker 1: hauld the strips together. Some were made of juniper bark
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  Speaker 1: wrapped with strings, and some were made of corn husks.
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  Speaker 1: These may have been used also as jarbress to support
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  Speaker 1: vessels with convex bottoms, which would not stand upright very
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  Speaker 1: well without some kind of support and of Section six