University of Virginia Library

I. THE REPORT

Part I

I. The Natural Landscape

By Donald D. Brand

Location and Setting:

The small house ruin of Tseh So (Bc50 survey number) is located
approximately in the center of Section 13 (University of New Mexico
property), Township 21 North, Range 11 West. This is about Latitude
36°3′ North, and Longitude 107°58′ West. The ruin is located on the
gently inclined sandstone pediment of a sandstone and shale (Chacra
sandstone and Allison members) spur that juts northward from the
south mesa wall of the Chaco Canyon. The toe of this spur extends
into a nearly level embayment of the south mesa, between the low Casa
Rinconada ridge on the west and the high cliffs of an eastern promontory.
Immediately south and east of Tseh So the cliffs are low,
running from fifty to one hundred feet, but they ascend by a series of
shelves and low scarps to the mesa top which is more than three hundred
feet above the canyon floor.

The canyon floor is, at this point, nearly half a mile wide from
north to south, and is nearly bisected by the channel of the Chaco River.
From Tseh So to the bank of the present channel is a trifle more than
one thousand feet. The banks are steep, between twenty-five and thirty
feet high, and are being cut away rapidly by lateral erosion of the
Chaco River and by the ephemeral torrents that cascade down the banks
from southern draws after heavy precipitations on the south mesa. Reentrants
of the south mesa, on both sides of Tseh So, are, at present,
sandy bottomed draws that extend into the mesa front approximately
a quarter of a mile. They have recently commenced to channel in their
upper portions.

Over the Tseh So ruin and the adjacent canyon floor lands there is
a sparse vegetation of chico or black greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus),
tumble weed or Russian thistle (Salsola pestifer), crownbeard
or smelling sunflower (Verbesina enceliodes exauriculata), and
scattered grasses. Herbaceous forms dominate; there is no tree
growth; and the chico is the only shrub in the immediate area. The
soil is a grayerth, derived from the sandstones and shales of the vicinity.
It is normally a transported sandy loam, of considerable depth,
with some organic content from the carbonaceous shales, but practically
lacking in potash, phosphates, and nitrates. Iron, sulfur, gypsum

(calcium sulphate), white alkalis (sodium chloride and sodium sulphate),
and black alkali (sodium carbonate) are present in varying
amounts. This soil is classified by the United States Bureau of Soils
as a Brown Soil, but it is more properly to be classed with the desert
gray soils.[1]

The Tseh So site is but one of several small house sites in this cove
to the east of Casa Rinconada. There are also traces of numerous pit
houses. From the upper edge of Tseh So can be seen most of the sites
of the main ruin area, including Casa Rinconada, Pueblo Bonito, Chetro
Ketl, Pueblo Alto, and Pueblo del Arroyo.

Geology, Landforms, and Drainage:

All of the rocks exposed in the Chaco Canyon are sedimentary in
origin, ranging in age from the Allison member of the Mesaverde
group, through the Chacra sandstone member, to the Lewis shale—all
belonging to the Upper Cretaceous. The Chaco Canyon has been eroded
mainly out of the Allison and Chacra members, as the Chaco River
leaves the Lewis shale about five miles below Pueblo Pintado. Back of
Pueblo Bonito, across the canyon from Tseh So, the canyon walls rise
nearly sheer for 125 feet. Including the back slopes, the canyon at this
point is more than 350 feet deep. The upper and greater portion of the
cliff scarp is made up of the massive buff Chacra sandstone, whose
counterpart the Cliff House sandstone forms imposing scarps in the
Mesa Verde. Due to a dip of the beds down toward the north, more of
the underlying Allison member is exposed in the southern cliffs than
in the north wall. The Allison member is made up of interbedded
sandstones and carbonaceous shales, with stringers of white clay, argillaceous
shale, selenite, and coal. In the vicinity of Casa Rinconada
the coal seams are thin, and the coal varies from lignite to subbituminous.
Progressing westward the seams increase in thickness, and the
quality of the coal improves. The characteristic profile of the Allison
exposure is that of a concave talus slope, littered with fragments of
shale and occasional large angular blocks of sandstone from the nearly
vertical face of the superior Chacra sandstone. This may be seen best
in the pediment of the Mesa Fajada, and along much of the southern
cliff wall.

Few fossils are found in the walls of the Chaco Canyon. These
are mainly casts of the giant fucoid alga Halymenites major, and shells
of Inoceramus barabini. It is normally assumed that the Allison shales
and sandstones were laid down during a period of oscillation of the
Cretaceous seacoast, some of the sediments having been formed in fresh

water, and others in coastal waters of the sea. The Chacra sandstone
is definitely marine in origin. Some shark's teeth have been collected
from the Chacra sandstone, in addition to the above mentioned algae
and shells. Plant rests are fairly common in the coal beds.

Within fifteen miles of Pueblo Bonito, advancing northeastward,
successive exposures of Lewis shale, Pictured Cliffs sandstone, Fruitland
formation, Kirtland shale, Ojo Alamo sandstone, and Puerco and
Torrejon formations are encountered. The Escavada Wash and its
tributaries the Kimbetoh Arroyo and Alamo Arroyo pass across all of
these formations. With the exceptions of the Kirtland and the Puerco
and Torrejon, the exposures are narrow (though continuous), with an
average width of less than two miles in the area to the north and east
of the Chaco Canyon ruins. The Lewis shale is of marine origin, as is
the succeeding Pictured Cliffs sandstone. Although calcareous rocks
are rare in all this area, some thin layers of impure brown limestone
are found in the Lewis shale. The Fruitland formation, of sandstones,
shales, and clays, was laid down in waters that changed from brackish
to fresh. Extensive badlands have been formed in the Fruitland, especially
of the weird monumental type. Various fossils of Dinosauria,
Chelonia, and Pisces have been obtained from the Fruitland formation.

The Kirtland shale, of fluviatile origin, is noted for its badlands
which normally assume a rounded billowy form. In the strata of the
Kirtland shale occur barite, gypsum, aragonite, siderite, petrified wood,
and numerous remains of dinosaurs, turtles, crocodiles, and fish. Succeeding
the Kirtland shale is the Ojo Alamo sandstone, whose geologic
position has been given variously as terminal Cretaceous and basal Tertiary.
The shale of the Ojo Alamo is fairly rich in remains of Reptilia;
and the conglomeratic sandstone contains silicified logs (up to three feet
in diameter), and pebbles (up to six inches in length) of red jaspery
quartz, brown and grey chert, vein quartz, pink and white quartzite,
rhyolite, andesite, felsite, porphyrite, granite, gneiss, schist, and obsidian.
Also there are found pieces of lignitized wood, concretions of
manganese, and limonitic concretions. The Puerco and Torrejon formations
possess a large vertebrate fauna—mainly archaic placental
mammals, and an abundance of turtles and crocodiles, but no dinosaurs.
Calcite crystals are found in bedding planes in the Puerco; and pebbles
of chert and quartz up to one inch in diameter are found in the
Torrejon.

Upon the horizontal to gently dipping Cretaceous rocks of the area
ephemeral torrents and prevailing winds have sculptured a landscape
of alternating dales and swells, with here and there ridges, knolls,
buttes, and mesas rising up to as much as a hundred feet above the
general plateau level. Only the Chaco River, and the lower portions of
its principal tributaries, has deeply incised the surface. Despite a

meager rainfall, the Chaco River collects enough water, during the torrential
precipitations of late summer, from its drainage basin (estimated
between 4,200 and 4,800 square miles) to maintain an ever-enlarging
channel some 150 miles in length. (Estimated runoff about
65,000 cubic feet.) Although normally the upper Chaco River is only
a sandy wash in the bottom of a narrow channel (70 to 150 feet in
width), in the rainy season a swirling flood of ill-smelling chocolate
colored water will fill its bed from bank to bank.[2] The load of the river
is made up of mud and sand, with a few small sandstone pebbles carried
in the train. No pebbles larger than one inch in diameter are to be
found in the canyon sector of the river.

Between Shabik'eshchee and Peñasco Blanco (the main area of prehistoric
settlement in the Chaco Canyon) the river describes a sinuous
course which results in the cutting away of tons of bank fill with every
rise of water. Although there is some deposition on the inner slackwater
margins of the bends, each season sees a fairly complete evacuation
of the material eroded from the banks. This was seemingly not
the case during all of the past millenium, as there are traces of an older
arroyo (now completely filled in) which wriggled its way across the
canyon floor, intersecting the present arroyo in a number of places.[3]
This filled arroyo, which was fifteen to eighteen feet deep, contains
shards from the latest Chaco period. There have evidently been several
cycles of filling and cutting in the Chaco Canyon since Basket Maker
days (some twelve hundred years ago) as pithouses and hearths of the
Basket Maker period have been revealed to a depth of more than thirteen
feet in various places along the present Chaco River bank.[4]

The work of the wind, prevailingly from the west and southwest,
is less spectacular than that of summer rains, but it has left its imprint
on every portion of the landscape. Sand blasting of the cliffs and
isolated rocks goes on continually, leaving polished or striated surfaces
here, and niched or honeycombed rocks there. Sandstone blocks at the
feet of southwest-facing cliffs are exposed to the greatest action of the
wind, and frequently one finds such boulders converted into sponges of
stone. Undercutting of cliffs, in the first three feet above the canyon
floor, contributes in no small fashion to the downfall of huge masses of
cliff rock. This is best observed between Kin Kletso and Chetro Ketl.

Silt and sand, collected from hundreds of square miles of shale and
sandstone, are harried by the wind—filling the air in the windy months
of spring and summer, or piling up in drifts along the larger washes.
One of the largest aggregations of sand dune and drift in the Chaco
Canyon is in the ox-bow around the Peñasco Blanco.

Weather, Climate, and Water Supply:

A moot point among archaeologists working in the Chaco area is
the possibility of climatic change during the past thousand years, and
even during the last hundred years. At one time Gregg and Simpson
were misquoted to prove that only three or four generations ago there
was a perpetual stream flowing in the Chaco Canyon.[5] The droughts
indicated by tree rings (for the period 750 to 1150 A. D.) did not cause
the abandonment of the Chaco, nor were they more intense or more frequent
than during the last four hundred years.[6] Undoubtedly there are
cyclic fluctuations which affect agricultural populations, especially on
marginal steppe areas as in the "dust bowl" of the United States, but
these fluctuations do not constitute secular change. There does remain
evidence, however, for a fuller and more diversified vegetation in the
Chaco a thousand years ago. Without entering into a full discussion
of possible factors, it will be sufficient at this time to mention the close
relationship between ground water supply and vegetation, and the oscillations
produced in physiographic processes and in areal distribution
of vegetation before a balance is attained after any disturbance of the
water supply-vegetation equilibrium. Any stream channeling will
initiate a lowering of water level and a reduction of vegetation. Concommitantly,
any reduction of vegetation (whether by disease, fire,
man, or other agent) will induce an accelerated runoff, and this will
initiate a cycle of erosion. On the basis of the evidence in hand, one
might plausibly conclude that weather and climate are the same today
as they were in 937 A. D., but the processes of denudation and erosion
have become so greatly augmented that marked differences exist in
landforms and vegetation. The change is physiographic and not necessarily
climatic.

Weather records have been kept in the Chaco Canyon continuously
only since June of 1932. A broken record extends back to May of 1922.
These records comprise only precipitation, and maximal and minimal
temperatures. Summarized for the Chaco Canyon National Monument
station, these records are:[7]

Station: Pueblo Bonito

Elevation: 6,000 feet.

Length of record: 6 to 9 years

                           

	Max. Temp.	Mean Max. Temp.	Min. Temp.	Mean Min. Temp.	Mean Temp.	Min. Precip.	Max. Precip.	Mean Precip.
Jan.	60°F.	40.7	—13	14.8	27.7	T	.67	.30
Feb.	70°	40.5	—15	18.7	29.6	T	2.34	.93
Mar.	80°	54.0	5	24.7	39.3	T	.94	.31
Apr.	84°	62.3	9	32.3	47.3	T	.47	.27
May	88°	73.6	24	41.3	57.4	.08	1.56	.60
June	99°	85.3	30	49.0	67.1	T	1.23	.27
July	100°	89.7	44	57.2	73.4	.66	2.11	1.19
Aug.	99°	86.7	42	55.6	71.1	.22	2.72	1.49
Sept.	102°	78.5	24	46.0	62.2	.32	2.42	1.02
Oct.	81°	66.6	10	37.0	51.8	T	2.62	.61
Nov.	71°	51.2	1	22.3	36.7	0	1.38	.70
Dec.	60°	40.9	—24	16.9	28.9	0	.89	.49
Annual	102°	64.2	—24	34.6	49.4	7.86	11.72	8.18

Greatest precipitations in 24 hours: 1.14 inches October 27, 1935; and
.90 inches August 4, 1936.

Modal date last killing frost: second week in May.

Modal date first killing frost: first week in October.

Average growing season: 150 days.

A general statement of the climate of the Chaco Canyon area,
based on records in the Chaco, interpolations from neighboring stations
of longer record at Aztec, Bloomfield, Crownpoint, Farmington, Fruitland,
Haynes, Shiprock and Tohatchi, and statements from local inhabitants,
follows:

The rainy season (with 46 per cent of the annual total) falls in
the summer months of July, August, and September. The summer rains
are normally convectional, and spotted in distribution, often accompanied
by high winds and hail. Annual precipitation means vary from
less than six inches in the western area to more than fifteen inches on
the higher eastern and southern mesas. Normally about fifty days of
the year have .01 inch or more of precipitation. More than twenty
inches of snow fall annually on the higher mesas. Occasionally roads
are blocked with snow, as in January, 1937. Annual precipitation will
vary more than fifty per cent either way from the mean, from year to
year. The wind blows prevailingly from the southwest, but in the summer
months there are diurnal shifts in the Chaco Canyon. A west wind
will blow up the canyon from 10:00 a. m. until 7:00 p. m.; this will
be replaced by an east wind down the canyon between 9:00 p. m. and

8:00 a. m.[8] March and April normally have the most violent windstorms,
although high winds may blow in July and August. The winter
months may get bitterly cold, but the summers are never intolerably
hot. Even after the hottest summer days, night and early morning
temperatures are cool, due to the rapid radiation under clear skies at
an elevation of 6,000 feet and higher.

Most visitors to the Chaco Canyon would class it immediately as a
desert. The comparative lack of water and the sparse vegetation would
seemingly justify such a classification. The writer has taken the
record from complete years in the Chaco Canyon and applied the
Koeppen system for the determination of climate.[9] According to this
analysis the Chaco Canyon is normally a cold desert, bordering on the
steppe (BWkfw, near BSkfw). Should the Chaco Canyon average one
more inch of rain a year, it would have a steppe climate. Certain years
are steppe years, although seven to eight out of every ten are seemingly
desert years. While the Chaco Canyon is desert in climate, the adjoining
mesas are probably steppe.

As has been mentioned, the Chaco River is an ephemeral stream
which drains most of the area. However, in between the Chaco tributaries
are a number of semi-permanent lakes or ponds, occupying small
areas of interior drainage. These are located principally on the Chaco
plateau to the south of the Chaco Canyon. Besides these ponds, and
artificial tanks constructed for the watering of sheep, there are a number
of springs and seeps, and countless tinajas and charcos. Undoubtedly
the prehistoric inhabitants of the Chaco relied in part on
these waterholes on the mesa tops, as trails lead up to them from the
various pueblos below in the canyon. The mesa-top waterholes are
filled only by seasonal rains, but a number of the springs are perpetually
fed by seepage, down through the sandstones and along bedding
planes, from large areas. The largest springs of the area are to be
found at the base of outcroppings of the Ojo Alamo formation, to the
north of the Chaco Canyon. Attempts at well drilling by white settlers
in the Chaco area have demonstrated that (1) there is no permanent
water table in the Chaco Canyon away from the underflow in the bed
of the river; (2) there are artesian basins to the south of the Chaco
Canyon; (3) the most likely source of water is in the porous sandstone
immediately above the Mancos shale; (4) most of the water from wells
is hard, quite often salty. The water at present provided by surface
and sub-surface run-off after summer rains is normally sufficient to
mature crops of maize and beans in the Chaco Canyon, when directed
to the fields by diversion dikes.

Biota:

According to archaeologic evidence, the present flora and fauna of
the Chaco area have altered somewhat, but not radically, during the
past millenium. Rushes, canes, willow twigs, timbers of yellow pine,
cottonwood, willow, and spruce, and charcoal from piñon and Douglas
fir, found in excavations, indicate a closer supply of these items than
is true at present. It is much more logical to bring the forests of pine
and piñon thirty miles closer from the Continental Divide and the
Dutton plateau than to believe that the prehistoric inhabitants of the
Chaco lugged by hand great logs (one remnant of a post or pillar has
been found that measured 26½ inches in diameter) over long distances.
Furthermore, there are still a few scattered piñon trees on the mesas
north and south of the Chaco; and a few lonely yellow pines were
growing on the mesa south of Casa Rinconada and in the side arroyos
of the Chaco Canyon until a dozen years ago.[10] The last yellow pine
near Pueblo Bonito (on the south mesa) was cut down for fire wood
in 1927, so that now the nearest pines are some sixteen miles up the
canyon. Jackson, in 1877, reported cottonwoods down stream from
Pueblo Bonito. All these have died, and now the nearest cottonwood
trees are eight miles up the canyon. It is not unreasonable to assume
that during a portion, at least, of the prehistoric period, the Chaco
River flowed between low banks—possibly through a series of pools—
which were bordered by growth of rushes, canes, willows, and cottonwoods.
Not only is there archaeologic and documentary evidence for
a former existence of such growths near the main sites, but there is
also corroboration of the postulated surface supply of water in the considerable
number of frogs carved in turquoise and modeled in terra
cotta.

The present vegetation of the canyon floor is chiefly of the Great
Basin microphyll desert type,[11] characterized especially by sagebrush
(Artemisia). On the alluvial flats of the canyon floor, at an average
elevation of six thousand feet, greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus)
is dominant, associated with sagebrush, bunch grasses (Sporobolus),
rubberweed (Hymenoxys), tumble weed (Salsola pestifer), salt bushes
(Atriplex), rabbit brush (Chrysothamnus), blue grama (Bouteloua
gracilis), galleta grass (Hilaria jamesii), feather grass (Stipa), poverty
grass (Aristida), crownbeard (Verbesina), etc. On talus slopes,
rocky ledges, and scattered over the mesa and valley surfaces of the
Chaco plateau are occasional yuccas and cacti. The shallow, stony
soils of sandstone ridges and mesas carry a sparse vegetation of junipers
(Juniperus, locally called cedars), piñon (Pinus edulis), and sagebrush,

with parklike openings scantily covered with steppe grasses. The
inter-mesa tracts are vegetated with sagebrush, rubberweed, blue
grama grass, some prickly pear and cane cacti (Opuntia), and other
grasses and cacti. Very sandy soils support joint fir (Ephedra) and
redtop grass (Agrostis). Along the ponds and lakes of the area grow
carrizo (Phragmites phragmites), rushes (Juncus), bulrushes (Scirpus)
and sedges (Carex). During the past three years the Soil Conservation
Service has planted in the Chaco Canyon more than 330,000 trees
and shrubs, and a couple of thousand pounds of grass seed.[12]

The fauna of the Chaco area has been almost totally neglected by
zoologists. From archaeologic and historical studies, however, it is
evident that very few if any newcomers have appeared upon the scene
since the abandonment of the Chaco Canyon pueblos. On the other
hand, American antelope or pronghorn (Antilocapra americana americana),
American elk or wapiti (Cervus canadensis), mule deer (Odocoileus
hemionus macrotis), bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis
and O. c. texiana), and bears (Euarctos and Ursus) seemingly once
inhabited the Chaco plateau. At present not one of these mammals is
to be found in the area. Antelope have been gone from the valleys for
more than 50 years; mule deer and elk have not been seen in this part
of New Mexico for at least a generation; while the bears have retreated
to the adjacent mountains, and the bighorn sheep have hidden
out in the San Juan Mountains or retired to southern ranges. These
animals, mainly herbivorous, were apparently driven out by man
through hunting and the introduction of domesticated grazing animals.
With the large herbivores went the carnivores, mainly Felidae, that
had preyed on them. This opened the field to rapidly multiplying
throngs of smaller fry, among whom the rodents took the lead. At
present the mammalian life of the Chaco area is dominated by rabbits,
hares, rats, mice, prairie dogs, gophers, and squirrels—with an occasional
coyote or fox to place a slight curb upon the rodent multiplication.
In actual fact, however, probably hawks, owls, and snakes prey
to a greater extent upon the rodents than do the Canidae.

A list of the more common rodents would include: the Texas
jackrabbit (Lepus californicus texianus), Colorado cottontail (Sylvilagus
auduboni warreni), Rocky Mountain cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttalli
pinetus), chipmunks (Eutamias), at least four species of
squirrels (Sciurus, Citellus, and Ammospermophilus), the Zuñi prairie
dog (Cynomys gunnisoni zuniensis), about a dozen kinds of mice, six
species of rats, an occasional porcupine (Erethizon), the golden pocket

gopher (Thomomys perpallidus aureus), and beaver (Castor canadensis
frondator) in the San Juan river. Within the Chaco Canyon proper
the Moki kangaroo rat (Dipodomys longipes), banner tailed kangaroo
rat (D. spectabilis baileyi), Baird's pocket mouse (Perognathus flavus
flavus), scorpion or grasshopper mouse (Onychomys leucogaster melanophrys),
white-footed or tawny deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus
rufinus), antelope ground squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus cinnamomeus),
Zuñi prairie dog, golden pocket gopher, Texas jackrabbit,
and Colorado cottontail rabbit are the rodents most frequently seen.
It is probable that a thousand years ago, when coniferous forests extended
into the Chaco area, there were numerous representatives of
tree squirrels (Sciurus), wood rats (Neotoma), and other forest loving
rodents that are now rare or absent. Three species of wood rats (Neotoma
lepida lepida, N. mexicana fallax, and N. cinerea arizonae) do inhabit
the rocky cliffs and ledges of the Chaco, where they erect nests
of saltbush branches, pieces of cactus, etc.

Among the carnivores occasionally seen in the Chaco area (and
presumably more common in past time) are: mountain lions (Felis
concolor), plateau wild cat (Lynx rufus baileyi), western red fox
(Vulpes macrourus), New Mexico desert fox (Vulpes macrotis neomexicana),
Arizona gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus scottii), gray wolf
(Canis lycaon nubilus), San Juan coyote (Canis latrans estor), mink
(Lutreola vison energumenos), Arizona weasel (Mustela arizonensis),
Arizona skunk (Mephitis mesomelas estor), badgers (Taxidea taxus),
and the bears mentioned previously. Of the Chiroptera there are a
number of species in the Chaco area including, certainly, the brown bat
(Eptesicus fuscus fuscus), and the black-nosed bat (Myotis subulatus
melanorhinus).

The bird, reptilian, molluscan, arthropod, and lower forms of life
have been practically unstudied in the Chaco Canyon area. Among the
birds definitely identified in the Chaco Canyon are: the redwinged
blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus), cowbird (Molothrus ater), western
crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), western mourning dove (Zenaidura
macroura marginella), golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), red-shafted
flicker (Coleptes cafer collaris), hawks (Buteo sp.), piñon jay
(Cyanocephalus=Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), Woodhouse jay
(Aphelocoma californica woodhousei), Shufeldt's junco (Junco oreganus
shufeldti), Arkansas kingbird (Tyrranus verticalis), horned
larks (Otocoris alpestris), American magpie (Pica pica hudsonia),
nighthawks (Chordeiles sp.), Bullock's oriole (Icterus bullocki), owls
(several species), scaled quail (Callipepla squamata pallida), American
raven (Corvus corax), white rumped shrike (Lanius ludovicianus excubitorides),
sparrows (Chondestes, Spizella, etc.), cliff swallow
(Petrochelidon albifrons), thrushes (Hylocichla sp.), canyon towhee

(Pipila fuscus mesoleucus), thrashers (Toxostoma sp.), vulture (Cathartes
aura septentrionalis), woodpeckers (Dryobates, etc.), and wrens.
Occasionally water birds, such as mallards, pintails, teals, and grebes,
may be seen in passage across the Chaco. The wild turkey (Meleagris
gallopavo), which is now found no closer than in the Zuñi, Chuska,
Jemez and San Mateo mountains, once probably roamed the forested
areas of the Chaco and Dutton plateaus.

Amphibians necessarily, in this arid area, are not numerous. At
present only the toad (Bufo sp.), and the leopard frog (Rana pipians)
are known by the writer to exist in the Chaco area. Undoubtedly frogs,
toads, and salamanders were present in considerable numbers when
the Chaco possessed a greater water supply. Lizards are numerous,
including Bailey's collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris baileyi), western
earless lizard (Holbrookia maculata approximans), southern brownshouldered
uta (Uta stansburiana elegans), striped swift (Sceloporus
consobrinus), and horned toads (Phrynosoma sp.). Among snakes
noted are: the western striped racer (Coluber taeniatus taeniatus),
western bull or gopher snake (Pituophis catenifer), white-bellied garter
snake (Thamnophis eques), prairie rattlesnake (Crotalus confluentus=
C. viridis), wandering garter snake (Thamnophis ordinoides elegans),
and the whip snake (Masticophis flagellum flavigularis). Although not
noted by the writer, it is possible that a few mud turtles and tortoises
exist in the Chaco area. Pepper, during his excavations at Pueblo
Bonito, found both carapace and dried "turtle" carcass. A few small
land snails, species unknown, may be found in the canyon. As there is
no permanent stream there are no fish. Various unidentified flies, mosquitoes,
grasshoppers, beetles, bugs, butterflies, moths, hornets, wasps,
bees, ants, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, millipeds, Crustacea, worms,
etc., are present.[13]

Natural Resources

Vegetable:

The archaeologic record of plants utilized by the prehistoric inhabitants
of the Chaco area is necessarily much less complete than for
animals and minerals. Fortunately, however, not all portions of plants
were consumed by man, weather, decay, and time. Charred woods, imprints
in plaster and adobe, nut shells, rinds, stems, leaves, husks,
bark, fibers, cobs, pollen, meal, etc., have allowed the ethnobotanist to
provide the archaeologist with a considerable number of identifications.
To date, the following plants have been recovered from excavations
and cliff cavities in the Chaco Canyon:[14]

Arrow reed (?)—No botanical identification. Possibly arrow grass
(Triglochin maritimum), arrow head (Sagittaria arifolia), or arrow
weed (Pluchea sericea). None of these has been noted in the
canyon area. (See Reeds.)

Beans (red) (?)—No botanical identification. Probably a Phaseolus,
a number of which are wild in New Mexico in addition to the cultivated
kidney and tepary beans. Beans and pods found in cliff
cavity.

Cane cactus (Opuntia arborescens)—Cane or whip cactus (also known
as cholla, candelabrum cactus, prickly pear, etc.) is scattered over
the entire Chaco area. It was used in roofing, and for implements;
also, probably, for food.

Cocklebur (Xanthium commune)—Burs found in definitely prehistoric
strata. This is contrary to belief that the common cocklebur was
introduced into New Mexico. No known prehistoric use; possibly
the seeds were eaten.

Cotton (Gossypium sp.)—Species seemingly G. hopi. This was probably
cultivated to a slight extent.[15] No wild cotton is known from
northern New Mexico. Lint, seeds, and a boll have been found.
Used for cordage, textiles, and on ceremonial objects.

Cottonwood or poplar (Populus sp.)—Probably P. wislizeni, P. acuminata,
and P. angustifolia, all of which grow in the San Juan basin.
Formerly more abundant along the Chaco River. Logs, branches,
sticks, and charcoal have been recovered. Used for pueblo construction,
implements, and firewood.

Dogbane (Apocynum sp.)—Kidder mentions Apocynum string from the
Chaco. This fiber-providing plant could have been obtained in the
area.

Gourd (Cucurbita sp.)—Not identified. Probably C. foetidissima.
Rinds found in cliff cavities. Use unknown.

Greasewood or chico (Sarcobatus vermiculatus)—Abundant in the
Chaco Canyon. Used for implements and firewood.

Horsetail or scouring rush (Equisetum sp.)—Probably E. arvense, E.
hiemale, and E. laevigatum, all of which grow along streams and
in cienegas in the San Juan basin. They have not been noted in
the Chaco Canyon, but probably were present in prehistoric times.
Used in roofing and matting.

Juniper or cedar (Juniperus sp.)—Rocky Mountain (J. scopulorum),
Utah (J. utahensis), and one-seeded (J. monosperma) junipers are
well represented in the Chaco vegetation. The Utah and one-seeded

species are most abundant. Archaeologic evidence indicates use for
pueblo construction, firewood, torches, implements, cordage, and
textiles. The gum also was used in ornamental inlays, etc. Probably
the junipers likewise provided food, dyestuffs, and medicine.

Maize or corn (Zea mays)—Leaves, stalks, quids of silk, cobs, kernels,
meal, and pollen have been recovered. The evidence in hand would
indicate a flint corn, although quite probably flour and dent corns
were cultivated also. Cobs having 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 rows have
been reported. Probably the 4-row count was erroneous. Cobs
with 8, 10, and 12 rows are most numerous. The plant was used
for food, in ceremonies, and for fuel.

Manzanita (?)—An implement of manzanita wood (Arctostaphylos
sp.) has been reported doubtfully. No manzanita grows in the
Chaco Canyon, but it is fairly common in the Chuska Mountains.

Mesquite (?)—A broken piece of carved wood, presumably mesquite
(Prosopis sp.), has been reported by Pepper.[16] No mesquite is
found in northern New Mexico closer than an occasional shrub in
the valley of the Puerco of the East.

Mountain Mahogany (Cercocarpus parvifolius)—Doubtfully identified
as material of various implements. Grows in the Chuska mountains.

Pepper or chili (?)—Pods of a pepper (Capsicum) appearance have
been found in one Chaco excavation. Capsicum does not grow wild
in northern New Mexico, and presumably was introduced to the
Pueblos by the Spaniards.

Pine (Pinus ponderosa scopulorum)—The western yellow pine has but
recently died out in the main ruin area of the Chaco Canyon.
Possibly a considerable stand of this pine once existed in and near
the canyon. Logs were commonly used for vigas and posts.

Piñon (Pinus edulis)—The piñon is found scattered over the Chaco
area, though apparently not so much as formerly. Wood, charcoal,
ash, gum or resin, nuts, and hulls are commonly found in
excavations. The piñon wood was used in pueblo construction and
for firewood; its nut served for food. The gum was used in the
same fashion as that of juniper.

Pumpkins (Cucurbita moschata and C. pepo)—These pumpkins (normally
referred to as "squashes" by archaeologists) were apparently
the only cucurbits cultivated in the Chaco Canyon. Stems and
rinds have been recovered.

Reeds (?)—This term, along with rushes, has been overworked by
archaeologists. There is a suspicion that many items loosely
classified as reeds may be cattail (Typha), bulrush (Scirpus), rush

(Juncus), sedge (Carex), and other non-grasses. The carrizo or
cane reed (Phragmites communis or P. phragmites), which is found
in the moist localities of the Chaco area, was used in roof construction,
matting, and for arrow shafts. It is possibly the "arrow
reed" of some writers.

Rushes (?)—One may not rely upon the botanical exactness of items
referred to as rushes. True rushes (Juncus) of several species are
found in the pond areas of the Chaco plateau, and formerly were
probably in the Chaco Canyon proper. Rushes were used for
roofing and matting.

Sacaton (Sporobolus sp.)—The sacaton grasses, also known as bunch
grass, dropseed, etc., grow over much of the Chaco area. They
were used prehistorically in the construction of roofs, in matting,
and probably for food. S. cryptandrus, S. wrightii, and S. airoides
are the most important species in this area.

Sedges (Carex sp.)—A number of species, normally restricted to moist
areas. Used in the same fashions as rushes.

Spruce (Picea sp.)—A few timbers of spruce have been recovered from
Chaco ruins. Probably both P. parryana and P. engelmanni are
represented. These grow at present in the higher mountains.

Sunflower (?)—Remains of wild sunflower have been mentioned from
Chaco ruins. These may be true sunflower (Helianthus), Helianthella,
or crownbeard (Verbesina). All three grow in the Chaco
area, although Helianthus anuus may have been introduced at a
comparatively late time. Probably used for food.

Walnut (Juglans sp.)—At present no wild walnuts grow within a
hundred and fifty miles of the Chaco Canyon.[17] Shells of both the
canyon or cliff walnut (J. rupestris) and J. major have been found
as elements in necklaces.

Willow (Salix sp.)—Formerly rather common in the Chaco Canyon.
Poles, sticks, and twigs have been recovered. Used in roof construction,
for implements, and basketry.

Yucca (Yucca sp.)—Both the datil (Y. baccata) and the amole (Y.
glauca) grow in the Chaco area. Leaves, pods, seeds, and fibers
are commonly found in excavations. The yuccas were used for
cordage, sandals, basketry, etc. Probably the fruit was used for
food, and the roots as a soap.

Judging from the ethnobotany of the modern Zuñi, Tewa, and
Navajo, hundreds of different species of wild plants (in addition to
those discussed above) must have been used by the prehistoric peoples
of the Chaco Canyon. Most of these plants undoubtedly grew in the
Chaco Canyon area, but probably hunters, traders, warriors, and travelers
brought to the Chaco many seeds, fleshy fruits, nuts, roots,
medicinal and ceremonial herbs, dye stuffs, woods, etc., from considerable
distances. Furthermore, there is the possibility that the Chaco
peoples indulged in seasonal treks to the Chuska, San Juan, Jemez,
San Mateo, and Zuñi mountains areas—or even farther—to harvest
piñon nuts, gather berries, dig roots, etc. Among the items available
in the Chaco drainage basin are the following:[18]

• Food: Seeds of amaranth (Amaranthus), sagebrush (Artemisia),
  goosefoot (Chenopodium), dodder (Cuscuta), cacti, sand bunchgrass
  (Oryzopsis hymenoides), purslane (Portulaca), sand dropseed
  (Sporobolus cryptandrus), crownbeard (Verbesina enceliodes),
  and vetch (Vicia), parched or in gruels or breadstuffs. Roots,
  tubers, bulbs, etc., of wild onion (Allium), Mariposa lily (Calochortus),
  Indian parsnip (Cymopterus), spurge (Euphorbia), wild
  carrots (Daucus pussilus and Lomatium orientale), wild celery
  (Phellopterus montanus), wild potato (Solanum fendleri), and sand
  verbena (Abronia fragrans). Greens from leaves, efflorescence,
  and stalks, of amaranth (Amaranthus), bee plant (Cleome),
  cañaigre (Rumex), Acanthochiton wrightii, milkweed (Asclepias),
  saltbush (Atriplex), and purslane (Portulaca). Various
  pulpy fruits of the barrel cactus (Echinocereus), juniper (Juniperus),
  tomatilla (Lycium), prickly pear (Opuntia), piñon (Pinus
  edulis), wild cherry (Cerasus), sumac (Rhus), wild currant
  (Ribes), wild rose (Rosa), bramble (Rubus), and datil (Yucca
  baccata). Acorns likewise are available in the foothills, especially
  of the Utah oak (Quercus utahensis) and of the Gambel oak (Q.
  gambelii).

• Medicinal: Yarrow (Achillea), Astragalus, Aster, joint fir (Ephedra),
  wild buckwheat (Eriogonum), spurge (Euphorbia), Gilia, snakeweed
  (Gutierrezia), evening primrose (Oenothera), sagebrush
  (Artemisia), tule (Scirpus), Penstemon, Phlox, rabbit bush
  (Chrysothamnus), winter fat (Eurotia), and meadow rue
  (Thalictrum).

• Dyes: Alder (Alnus), saltbush (Atriplex), barberry (Berberis), rabbit
  bush (Chrysothamnus), cliff rose (Cowania), larkspur (Delphinium),
  rubber plant (Hymenoxys), juniper (Juniperus), four
  o'clock (Mirabilis), prickly pear (Opuntia), mistletoe (Phoraden-
  

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  Map III—Probable Location of Mineral Sources

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  [55

  
  
  
  dron), piñon (Pinus edulis), sumac (Rhus), cañaigre (Rumex),
  and cota (Thalesperma).

• Fibers, matting, and baskets: Dogbane (Apocynum), carrizo (Phragmites
  communis), rushes (Juncus), horsetail (Equisetum), sedges
  (Carex), sacaton (Sporobolus), willow (Salix), juniper (Juniperus),
  and Yucca.

• Miscellaneous: Most of the plants commonly used in building and for
  firewood have been mentioned previously. Needles could be obtained
  from yuccas and cacti. Soap is provided by the amole
  (Yucca glauca). Piñons, junipers, and other conifers, yield gums
  and resins. Smoking material could be secured from sumacs,
  willows, and Nicotiana attenuata.

Mineral:

The minerals and rocks utilized prehistorically in the Chaco
Canyon constitute a list of considerable length. The archaeologic record
probably coincides fairly closely with the actual list, excepting in the
pigments and hydrocarbons. There follows a complete list of minerals
recovered from Chaco excavations:[19]

• Agate (SiO2)—A variegated chalcedony form of quartz. Both banded
  and moss agates have been found in Chaco ruins. Unworked. Probably
  derived from silicified logs in Kirtland shale and Ojo Alamo
  conglomeratic sandstone.

• Alabaster (CaSO4. 2H2O)—A fine-grained, sub-translucent variety of
  gypsum. Possibly obtained from the Mesaverde group or the Kirtland
  shale, but more probably brought in from eastern deposits
  near the Nacimiento uplift or along the lower Rio San Jose.

• Albatite (sic)—Reported from Chetro Ketl. No further data. Possibly
  albertite or albite.

• Aragonite (CaCO3)—Same chemical composition as calcite but crystallizes
  in the orthorhombic system, and is harder. Use unknown.
  Possibly from Lewis shale, but more probably from the Kirtland
  shale, from fossil shells, and from the Puerco and Torrejon formations.

• Argillite—A schist or slate derived from clay. Pipes of argillite were
  found at Tseh So. Probably derived from argillaceous shale beds
  in the Allison member, or from the Lewis or Kirtland shales.

• Azurite (2CuCO3. Cu (OH)2)—A blue carbonate of copper. Frequently
  found in Chaco ruins unworked, in beads, and powdered
  for pigment. Probably derived from the Zuñi mountains, or from
  

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  56]

  
  
  
  isolated patches in the Navajo (old usage) sandstone in the Dutton
  plateau.

• Basalt—A dense, fine-grained dark-colored igneous rock containing
  much hornblende. Used for percussion and grinding tools, but not
  common. Possibly brought in from the river terrace deposits along
  northern tributaries of the San Juan, or from the lava flows north
  of Bluewater, some fifty miles south of the Chaco.

• Calcareous tufa (CaCO3)—A redeposited limestone form of calcite.
  So far in the Chaco, found only in the Chetro Ketl excavations.
  Used for beads. Calcareous rocks are rare in the Chaco area, but
  the Lewis shale contains some thin layers of impure limestone
  which may have contributed to the formation of tufa.

• Calcite crystals (CaCO3)—A crystalline form of calcium carbonate,
  found rather commonly in Chaco ruins. Used for beads and pendants.
  Calcite crystals are found in bedding planes in the Puerco
  formation.

• Cannel coal—Commonly considered to be a compact variety of bituminous
  coal, although it averages less fixed carbon and more volatile
  material. Possesses dull luster and conchoidal fracture. Used for
  beads. No deposits of cannel coal have been reported from the
  Chaco area, but possibly small lenses occur in the predominant
  sub-bituminous seams. The identification may have been erroneous,
  instead of jet or lignite.

• Carbonaceous shale—Altered clay beds containing considerable brownish
  bituminous material. Quite common in the Chaco Canyon, especially
  in the upper portion of the Allison member. Used for
  flooring, etc., in pueblo construction, and for pot covers, ornaments,
  etc.

• Chalcedony (SiO2)—A light-colored cryptocrystalline variety of quartz,
  transparent to translucent, and with a waxy luster. Agate and
  onyx are forms of chalcedony. Found commonly as material for
  scrapers, knives, projectile points, polishing stones, hammer stones,
  etc. After sandstone, chalcedony and chert were the minerals
  most commonly used for artifacts in the Chaco area. Probably
  derived from silicified logs in the area, and pebbles in the Ojo
  Alamo, Puerco, and Torrejon formations.

• Chalk (CaCO3)—A soft, whitish compact limestone form of calcite.
  Reported from Pueblo Bonito. No chalk beds are known in the
  Chaco, but there may be small deposits in the Lewis shale.

• Chert (SiO2)—An impure, brittle, usually grayish-colored quartz.
  Chert is sometimes called hornstone; also the term chert is often
  applied to any impure flinty rock, including jaspers. The usage
  of the term in archaeologic reports is uncertain. Used for artifacts
  

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  [57

  
  
  
  in the same manner as chalcedony. Pebbles of gray, brown,
  and black chert are found in the nearby Morrison, Ojo Alamo, and
  Torrejon formations; but possibly much of the chert used in the
  Chaco area (and all over northern New Mexico) came from the
  prehistoric quarries on the flank of the Cerro Pedernal in the
  Chama drainage.

• Clay—Earthy material, plastic when wet, composed chiefly of hydrous
  aluminous silicates. Most of the clays in the Chaco Canyon are
  recent alluvial (in the valley fill), and argillaceous shales. Principally
  in the upper portion of the Allison member, and to a minor
  extent in the Chacra sandstone, are thin stringers of hard white
  clay interbedded with lignite and sandstone. Experiments with
  this clay indicate that it is identical with most, if not all, of the
  clay used by the prehistoric inhabitants of the Chaco in making
  their ceramics. This same clay was utilized in making much of
  the plaster used in the pueblos, both in a pure form and mixed with
  caliche (a calcareous adobe or clay). The sandy alluvial clay or
  adobe, found exposed in the Chaco channel walls, was used for
  plaster, mortar, and wall fill. Beads and other ornaments were
  likewise made from clay.

• Copper (Cu)—The only malleable metal found in Chaco excavations.
  Bells, hammered copper, beads, and nuggets have been found in
  Pueblo Bonito and in Chetro Ketl. Although native copper is found
  as close as in the Zuñi Mountains and in Rio Arriba county, there
  is no evidence that it was mined prehistorically in New Mexico. The
  general supposition is that the raw and worked copper items were
  traded up from the south, possibly from Durango or Zacatecas in
  Mexico.

• Diabase—A fine-textured dark-colored igneous rock; actually a general
  and collective term applied to fine-grained varieties of dolerite,
  gabbro, and diorite. Used to a minor extent for instruments of
  percussion, etc. Probably brought in from the area north of the
  San Juan river.

• Diorite—A dark-colored igneous rock with medium or coarse grains.
  Used infrequently for cutting blades, percussion tools, etc. Also
  probably derived from the river terrace pebbles to the north.

• Flint (SiO2)—A semi-translucent gray to black quartz with a pronounced
  conchoidal fracture. The term has been used quite
  loosely, and probably the items so identified were of chert. True
  flint is not known from the Chaco area, nor from Northwestern
  New Mexico at all, according to the definition of flint accepted by
  many mineralogists.

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58]





• Galena crystals (PbS)—A lead sulphide, the commonest of the lead
  minerals. Found in two Chaco Canyon excavations, unworked. In
  the Zuñi Mountains and in Rio Arriba county are the nearest
  sources.

• Garnet—This term is applied to the members of a varied group of
  metallic silicates. Garnet has been reported only from the Pueblo
  Bonito excavations, and was probably the pyrope or blood-red
  precious garnet. These are obtained from ant hills, etc., in the
  vicinity of Fort Defiance, Arizona, and elsewhere as in Buell Park,
  and Garnet Ridge on the Utah-Arizona line.

• Gilsonite or Uintahite—A brittle variety of asphalt, lustrous black in
  color, with a conchoidal fracture. Probably the same as manjak.
  Found in Utah, and western Colorado, and in veins in sandstone
  strata southwest of Aztec. It superficially resembles another
  asphalt (wurtzilite), and has frequently been confused with the
  jet variety of lignite. Usually employed for ornaments, inlays,
  and "buttons."

• Gneiss—Commonly a metamorphosed granite of a light color. The
  nearest source is in the conglomeratic Ojo Alamo sandstone. So
  far found only in one Chaco ruin, in instruments of percussion.
  Possibly brought in from the Garnet Ridge area.

• Goethite (Fe2O3. H2O)—A hydrated iron oxide resembling limonite.
  Found in Pueblo Bonito. Probably found with other oxides of iron
  in the area.

• Granitic rocks—A group of medium-fine to coarse-grained plutonic
  acidic igneous rocks, normally light colored. A few manos at Tseh
  So are of granite. Probably derived from the Ojo Alamo conglomerate.

• Gypsum (CaSO4. 2H2O)—A hydrous calcium sulphate found in several
  forms including alabaster, selenite, and rock-gypsum. Found commonly
  in the Chaco ruins, used in plaster, and for beads, pendants,
  tablets, etc. These uses refer to the rock- or plaster-gypsum.
  Gypsum is found scattered through the Mesaverde group, but is
  more abundant in the Kirtland shale.

• Hematite (Fe2O3)—An iron oxide. Occurs commonly in the argillaceous
  and fossil concretion forms, and less commonly in the earthy or
  red ochre form, throughout the Chaco area. Polished cylinders
  of problematic use, concave concretions used as mortars, beads,
  and other varied forms are found commonly in Chaco ruins. Usually
  when an archaeologist reports "hematite," he is referring to
  the non-earthy forms. (See Iron Concretions, and Red Ochre.)

• Iron concretions—Term loosely employed for various concretions,
  usually of hematite, in the Chaco area.

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[59





• Iron pyrites or pyrite (FeS2)—This pale brass-yellow "fool's gold" is
  an iron sulphide. Occasionally it is found unworked in Chaco
  ruins. It occurs sporadically as concretions in the local coal seams;
  and is found both in crystalline and massive form in the Chacra
  sandstone. It is possible that some of the pyrite reported by archaeologists
  may be marcasite.

• Jasper (SiO2)—An opaque massive quartz, usually red, brown, or
  yellow in color. Used rather commonly for projectile points and
  ornaments. Derived from silicified logs, and from pebbles in the
  Ojo Alamo conglomeratic sandstone. Possibly some of the jasper
  may be a product of the burning coal beds of the Chaco area which
  have baked clays and shales into porcelain jasper.

• Jet—A "jet black" variety of brown coal or lignite. It is a compact
  hydrocarbon, takes a high polish, and has a conchoidal fracture.
  Used for beads, "buttons," inlays, and various other small carved
  items. There may be some confusion in the identification of items
  listed by archaeologists as jet, lignite, and gilsonite. Probably
  derived from the coal seams in the Chaco Canyon.

• Kaolin—A white residual and sedimentary clay composed chiefly of
  kaolinite. Pieces of raw kaolin have been reported from two Chaco
  ruins. It is quite possible that these identifications were in error,
  as the clays of the San Juan area are chiefly clay shales, plastic
  clays, and fire clays.

• Lignite—A variable variety of coal, ordinarily brown in color and
  ligneous in texture, which checks irregularly and breaks into thin
  slabs. The black form of lignite is known as sub-bituminous coal.
  This is the dominant type in the Allison and Chacra members of
  the Mesaverde. In 1905 R. Wetherill opened up a mine, one mile
  west of Pueblo Bonito, in the upper portion of the Allison where
  five feet of coal seams were exposed. There is no evidence that
  the prehistoric dwellers of the Chaco Canyon ever deliberately used
  coal as a fuel, although carbonaceous shale was used as a flooring
  material, and various ornaments of lignite have been recovered.
  It should be mentioned, however, that in August of 1936, Dr.
  Ernst Antevs and the writer noted fragments of lignite concentrated
  in the fire pits of several pit houses which had been exposed
  by the collapse of a section of the Chaco river bank near Shabik'eshchee.

• Limestone (CaCO3)—A variety of calcite. Occasionally found in Chaco
  ruins, worked into tablets or palettes, and beads. Possibly derived
  from the layers of impure limestone in the Lewis shale, but more
  probably from Lower Cretaceous rocks in the Dutton plateau to
  the south.

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60]





• Limonite—Commonly a mixture of several hydrated iron oxides, usually
  found in amorphous, concretionary, and earthy forms. Both unworked
  concretions, and earthy limonite (yellow ochre) are found
  in Chaco ruins. Derived from various rocks throughout the Chaco
  area.

• Malachite (CuCO3. Cu (OH)2)—A green carbonate of copper. Found
  unworked, and ground for pigment. Occurrence same as that of
  azurite.

• Mica—A group of minerals, including muscovite or "isinglass" and
  biotite or black mica. Mica sheets have been reported from Pueblo
  Bonito. Probably obtained from Rio Arriba county.

• Monzonite porphyry—A fine to medium grained group of igneous rocks
  with a porphyritic texture. Used at Tseh So for instruments of
  percussion. Possibly derived from the Ojo Alamo conglomeratic
  sandstone.

• Obsidian—Volcanic glass, with a decided conchoidal fracture, commonly
  black in color. Fairly common as a material for projectile
  points. Possibly derived from pebbles in the Ojo Alamo sandstone,
  but more probably obtained from the Jemez—Cerro Pedernal
  area where a stream known as Obsidian creek contains numerous
  nodules or pebbles of this material.

• Ochre, red (Fe2O3)—The earthy or rouge form of hematite. Used as
  a pigment. Found sporadically over the Chaco area in sandstones
  and shales.

• Ochre, yellow (2Fe2O3. 3H2O)—The earthy form of limonite. Used as
  a pigment. Found scattered over the Chaco area, especially near
  Pueblo Alto. At present yellow ochre is worked commercially
  near Farmington.

• Onyx (SiO2)—A horizontally banded form of agate or variegated chalcedony.
  Found as beads at Chetro Ketl. Probably derived from
  the Kirtland shale, Ojo Alamo sandstone, and Puerco and Torrejon
  formations.

• Petrified or silicified wood—Woody material replaced normally by silica
  to constitute psuedomorphs after wood containing agate, amethyst,
  chalcedony, jasper, opal, onyx, and quartz. Commonly used for
  arrowheads and instruments of percussion. Fragments and logs
  of petrified wood are frequently found in the Kirtland shale and
  Ojo Alamo sandstone.

• Picrolite (H4Mg3Si2O9)—A variety of serpentine with long coarse
  fibers, not easily separated nor flexible. Reported from Chetro
  Ketl in beads. Possibly obtained from the Garnet Ridge area,
  Arizona-Utah, or from Rio Arriba or Catron counties.

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[61





• Pumice—A cellular form of volcanic glass. Reported from Pueblo
  Bonito. Probably derived from the area immediately southwest of
  Mount Taylor, where pumice deposits have been worked commercially
  in recent times.

• Quartz (SiO2)—The dioxide of silicon, possessing a large number of
  distinct varieties. In addition to sandstone, quartzite, petrified
  wood, onyx, jasper, flint, chert, chalcedony, and agate—discussed
  separately—rock crystal, and milky or vein quartz, have been
  found in Chaco ruins. Probably derived from the Ojo Alamo
  sandstone and from the Puerco and Torrejon formations.

• Quartzite—Metamorphosed silicaceous sandstone. Used for percussion
  instruments. Probably obtained from pebbles in the Ojo Alamo
  conglomeratic sandstone.

• Reddle—A clay and red ochre mixture resembling argillite, but softer.
  Found as beads at Tseh So. Probably obtained from local shales.

• Rhyolite—A dense, fine-grained, light-colored volcanic rock, constituting
  a variety of felsite. Used for hoes at Tseh So. Probably
  derived from the Ojo Alamo sandstone, or brought in from the east.

• Sandstone—A rock composed of grains of sand, usually of quartz.
  The dominant rock in the Chaco area where the cementing material
  is usually calcite and iron oxides. Sandstone was by far the most
  important non-organic material utilized by the prehistoric inhabitants
  of the Chaco. It was the chief component of the masonry
  houses; most of the metates, manos, and mortars were of sandstone;
  also, trays, palettes, disks, sandal lasts, and many other
  artifacts were made of sandstone. Pictographs were painted on
  sandstone walls, and petroglyphs were carved over thousands of
  square feet of canyon wall and sandstone boulder. Bedrock as well
  as fragments were used as rasps, grindstones, and knife sharpeners.

• Selenite (CaSO4. 2H2O)—A transparent cleavable crystalline variety
  of gypsum. Unworked fragments of various sizes have been found
  in Chaco ruins; also worked as ornaments. It may possibly have
  been used in windows, as later Pueblo peoples have utilized the
  larger crystals. Selenite is found sporadically throughout the
  canyon, and there is a stratum in the cliff just back of Tseh So.
  Should selenite have been used as a window material, possibly
  sufficiently large crystals were brought in from the area south of
  the Mesa Lucero and west of the Rio Puerco of the East.

• Serpentine (H4Mg3Si2O9)—A non-crystalline massive mineral of various
  shades of green. Reported at Chetro Ketl in beads. Possibly
  from northern Arizona, or from Rio Arriba or Catron counties.

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62]





• Shale—A soft sedimentary rock, with normally a thinly laminated
  structure, formed by the consolidation of beds of mud, clay, or silt.
  In the Chaco area the shales are only less important than the sandstones.
  Gray, green, brown, and black shales are most common, the
  black to gray carbonaceous shales being preponderant. Shale was
  used as floor material, for beads and other ornaments, olla lids
  or covers, tablets and palettes, etc. Archaeologic reports normally
  do not differentiate among the shales, but some reports list specifically:
  argillaceous shale, green shale, carbonaceous shale, ferruginous
  shale, and siltstone. Siltstone is merely a quite soft shale
  lacking in quartz particles.

• Steatite or soapstone (H2Mg3Si4O12)—A compact gray to green form
  of talc. Reported from Pueblo Bonito as a coarse green steatite.
  This may be a talc-schist. Possibly obtained from the Garnet
  Ridge area or from Rio Arriba county.

• Sulphur (S)—A yellow non-metallic element. Reported from Pueblo
  Bonito as native sulphur. Distributed in small quantities throughout
  much of the Chaco area, especially in the shales and coal seams.

• Talc (H2Mg3Si4O12)—The foliated form, as distinguished from the
  massive steatite, is often referred to as talc. Reported from
  Shabik'eshchee. Provenience the same as for steatite.

• Trachyte—A variety of felsite superficially closely resembling rhyolite.
  Reported from Pueblo Bonito. Accompanies turquoise from the
  Cerrillos district.

• Turquoise—A basic copper aluminum phosphate. This semi-precious
  stone was and is the most prized ornament material among the Indians
  of New Mexico. It was the material most commonly used for
  beads, pendants, inlays, etc., in the Chaco ruins, as at Pueblo
  Bonito where more than 50,000 pieces and items of turquoise were
  recovered by the Hyde Expedition. Although the districts of La
  Jara, in southern Colorado, and Los Cerrillos, near Santa Fe, were
  about equally distant from the Chaco Canyon, it is commonly
  assumed that most of the Chaco turquoise came from Los Cerrillos.

In addition to the various rocks and minerals reported to date
from Chaco excavations, presumably future excavations and more
accurate identifications will provide further items—both as to minerals
and rocks, and as to uses. There are, moreover, a few minerals that
can confidently be expected from further work in Chaco ruins. Among
these are barite or heavy spar (BaSO4), used as a pigment, which is
found in the strata of the Kirtland shale; siderite or brown spar
(FeCO3), used as a pigment, and also found in the Kirtland shale; and
various metamorphic and igneous rocks (such as andesite, schist, gabbro,
slate, and olivine), which could have been picked up in the river

terraces and conglomerates of the region to the north of the Chaco.
Salt, to date, has not been recovered from Chaco excavations. Considering
its solubility, this is to be expected. Undoubtedly the prehistoric
inhabitants of the Chaco obtained salt from certain plants, and also
acquired it by trade or by special expeditions to such localities as the
Zuñi Salt Lake, and the Salinas near Willard. The present Navajo
inhabitants of the Chaco are reported to get an impure salt from a
deposit (not known to the writer) somewhere in the Escavada Wash
area. Salt also could have been obtained from saline springs which
occur in the Chaco area.

Shells:

Although produced by organisms, shells of molluscs are mineral
in composition, and are therefore discussed in this section. Shells of
fossil molluscs and brachiopods (such as Inoceramus, and spirifers)
found locally, fresh water clams (origin uncertain) and seashells (from
both Pacific and Atlantic waters) have been found in Chaco ruins. In
terms of absolute numbers, and the number of ruins in which they have
been found, the leading shells are Olivella, Glycymeris, Strombus, and
Murex. Haliotis (abalone) shells have been found only at Pueblo
Bonito, to date. The last named five genera, together with other genera
(such as Conus, Turritella, Cerithidea, and Trivia) found in ruins of
the San Juan drainage outside of the Chaco Canyon, must have been
obtained by trade as their nearest sources would be the Gulf of California,
the Pacific Coast of the Californias, and the Gulf of Mexico—
all hundreds of miles distant. The bulk of shells known in the Chaco
came from Pacific waters. Shells were used principally for beads and
other ornaments, but also for trumpets (Strombus and Murex), and as
receptacles (Haliotis).

Animal:

Fairly numerous remains of bone, horn, hide, hair and feather,
allow the identification of some 20 genera of mammals, and eight
genera of birds that were definitely contemporary with the ancient
inhabitants of the Chaco. Fish bones (species not stated, and source
not known) and the remains of "turtles" (species not given) have been
reported from Pueblo Bonito; and fossil shark teeth have been found
in several sites. No reptilian or batrachian remains have ever been
reported from Chaco excavations. Judging from the evidence of location
and condition of various bones, it may be concluded that various
species of rabbit, the prairie dog, the American antelope, and the mule
deer, along with the turkey, were the favorite animals for food. Implements
and ornaments were most commonly made from the bones of
deer, turkey, and rabbit. Feathers, fur, hair, and skins were all used
in making articles of clothing, and for ceremonial objects. The best

preserved and most complete skeletons recovered have been those of
the turkey, dog, and macaw. This would lead to the assumption that
these animals were either domesticated or kept in captivity, and that
they were not commonly used, if at all, as items of food. The evidence
of bone condition would, however, allow the conclusion that the turkey
was eaten at times. Since the identification of bird remains is more
difficult than that of mammals, the following list of mammls is probably
much closer to the actual number utilized in the Chaco than is the bird
list.

• American antelope (Antilocapra americana americana)—Various
  bones.

• Badger (Taxidea taxus)—A few limb bones found at Tseh So.

• Bear (species not given)—Claws, skin, jaw and other bones found at
  Pueblo Bonito and Chetro Ketl.

• Beaver (Castor sp.)—Jaw found at Pueblo Bonito.

• Bison (Bison bison)—A few bones reported from Chetro Ketl. This is
  far west of the former range, which extended only as far west as
  the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern
  New Mexico.

• Coyote (Canis latrans)—Various bones. Possibly of dog, in some cases.

• Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)—Numerous bones, skins, and antlers of
  the mule deer.

• Dog (Canis familiaris)—Numerous bones, and several whole skeletons.

• Elk (Cervus canadensis)—A fair number of bones from three sites.

• Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus scottii)—Bones of the gray fox from
  two sites.

• Gopher (Thomomys perpallidus aureus)—A few bones of the golden
  pocket gopher. Possibly intrusive.

• Lynx (Lynx rufus baileyi)—Bones from Tseh So.

• Mountain lion (Felis concolor)—Claws reported from Pueblo Bonito.

• Mountain sheep (Ovis canadensis)—Horns, jaw, teeth, etc., from two
  sites.

• Mouse (various species)—Possibly intrusive in some cases. Tawny
  deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus rufinus) definitely identified.

• Porcupine (Erethizon sp.)—A porcupine jaw reported from Pueblo
  Bonito.

• Prairie dog (Cynomys gunnisoni zuniensis)—Bones quite common.
  Some possibly intrusive.

• Rabbit—Numerous bones, and pieces of skin, representing the Texas
  jack rabbit (Lepus californicus texianus), Colorado cottontail
  

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  [65

  
  
  
  (Sylvilagus auduboni warreni), and Rocky Mountain cottontail
  (S. nuttalli pinetus.)

• Rat (several species)—Bones from the wood rat (Neotoma mexicana
  fallax) have been definitely identified from two sites.

• Squirrel (Citellus sp.)—Bones of at least one species of ground squirrel.

Birds:

• Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)—Bones and feathers of the golden eagle.
  Less common only than remains of the turkey.

• Flicker (Coleptes caffer collaris)—Feathers of the red-shafted flicker.

• Hawk (Buteo sp.)—Bones and feathers from two sites.

• Macaw (Ara militaris)—Complete skeletons of more than a dozen
  green macaws were found in Room 38 of Pueblo Bonito. These
  macaws were evidently kept in captivity. Various macaw bones
  and feathers were found elsewhere in Pueblo Bonito. Probably
  traded up from the mountains of southern New Mexico, where
  they are still found occasionally.

• Magpie (Pica pica hudsonia)—Bones from Leyit Kin.

• Piñon birds (Cyanocephalus cyanocephalus)—Bones reported from
  Pueblo Bonito.

• Quail (Callipepla squamata pallida)—Bones of the scaled quail reported
  from Leyit Kin.

• Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo)—Bones, complete skeletons, egg shells,
  and feathers commonly found in Chaco sites. Possibly domesticated,
  certainly kept in captivity, and hunted in the wild state.

Fig. 1. East-west Section at Room 11, Mound 50