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Show A. D., connect the modern tribes, which are historically and ethnologically known, with the prehistoric ruins. Future study of such sites will serve both to determine the origins and relationships of the living tribes and, conversely, to animate and illumine the prehistoric ruins and artifacts, to fill out the incomplete picture they present of aboriginal cultures and peoples. Such sites, numerous in the Colorado drainage though relatively little- studied so far, range from large pueblos such as Awatovi, destroyed in 1700 A. D., and almost deserted Oraibi, to inconspicuous camping places of Ute hunters. SIGNIFICANCE OF ARCHEOLOGY Archeology is of significance not alone to the archeologist or student of primitive man. Archeology, in brief, is the study of human history. The more we learn about the life and times of every ancient people and tribe, the more we learn concerning the rise and fall of past human civilizations, the more we learn of how other people at other times attempted to solve various situations, the better equipped we shall be to solve our present and future problems of individual and social adjustments. Archeology as a science can be justified solely on the basis that people are interested in it and desire to know more about it. A review of the feature stories of the past few decades will reveal that a number of them deal with spectacular finds of archeological material, such as the opening of King Tut's tomb in Egypt, the jewelry from Monte Alban in Mexico, the jade ornaments and giant stone heads from Vera Cruz, and the still romantic cliff dwellings of the Southwest. The old saying, " The proper study of mankind is man," is still as true as the day it was first spoken. One of the greatest assets of archeology lies in the field of popular education. Our local, State, and national museums derive a great deal of their exhibited material from archeological excavations. The specimens and information resulting from these excavations increase our knowledge of the historical background of the Colorado River Basin. Archeology will also furnish our scientists with much valuable information on past climatic changes, population trends and migrations, methods of agriculture, problems of land use, and many other beneficial phases vital to our present civilization. The National Park Service, through its national parks and monuments, has preserved for study and public use a great many of the outstanding archeological ruins in the Colorado River Basin. Some of the most important of these, to name only a few, are thus protected in Mesa Verde National Park, in Dinosaur, Navajo, Canyon de Chelly, Wupatki, Chaco Canyon, Aztec Ruins, Casa Grande, and Tonto National Monuments, and in Lake Mead Recreational Area. However, there are literally thousands of other ruins, many of which are equally important, which do not have this protection and are consequently subject to destruction through any one of a number of causes. EFFECT OF RESERVOIRS ON ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS The greater part of the archeological wealth of the Southwest, as is evident from the foregoing discussion, is found within the Colorado River Basin, and a considerable part is concentrated in the valleys themselves adjacent to an adequate water supply and agricultural fields. Construction of dams and the consequent flooding of hundreds of miles of river valleys will destroy countless thousands of these prehistoric and historic ruins. This archeological heritage, including house remains, pottery, stone, bone, and shell ornaments, implements, and utensils, burials, and other materials forms a national asset, a priceless record of prehistoric man's aims and accomplishments that can never be replaced, once the evidence is destroyed. The sites and artifacts represent a span of thousands of years, from the ancient hunters of animals, now extinct, to the historic tribes of living Indians. In the course of modern reclamation and power development, it is inevitable that ruins of major archeological value in the Colorado River Basin will be destroyed. These ruins can be grouped into three general classes: ( a) those which lie within the actual reservoir area of a dam site and will thus be flooded, ( b) those which lie below the reservoirs on cultivable land to be put under the plough by 100 |
