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Show EXPLORING IN THE CANYON OF DEATH 291 from the grave pit (see page 297), we turned it on its side to permit the dust to sift out of the wrappings. Amid the dust were two beautiful sets of turquoise, once elements of a mosaic. We searched for the ornament to which they belonged, but found no trace of it. Months later, while I was preparing the mummy to be photographed for this article, another bit of turquoise was found beneath the chin, and across the breast my brush laid bare the deep impression of the rim of a basket which had been inverted over the head. Farther down, just below the end of the breastbone, there was a depression where a large oval pendant half an inch thick had settled into the flesh. The story was now as clear as if set in good bold type. Centuries ago some aborigine had partially opened the grave, removed the basket which covered the face, reached beneath the wrappings, and withdrawn the coveted ornament. In so doing he loosened and lost the three turquoises, which remained to convince us that in ancient America, as well as in Egypt, grave robbers plied their trade. If the Fates continue to be kind, some day they will guide my shovel to the bones of the one who in this case preceded me, for upon his breast the great pendant may still repose. WOMAN'S MUTILATED MUMMY YIELDS RARE ORNAMENT A few days' work in this cave so increased the bulk of our collection that two four-horse teams were necessary to freight it out of the reservation and over the 100-mile stretch between our camp and Gallup, New Mexico, the nearest railroad point (see map, page 232). Throughout the ensuing months the lure of the canyon called imperatively, with the result that October, 1924, saw us again encamped among the sage and cacti. At the close of a five weeks' campaign the freight teams once more trekked Gal-lupward laden with a precious cargo. Many of the finds were fully as spectacular as those of the preceding season. In the grotto which had sheltered the looted burial an old woman had been interred back downward, with knees pointing vertically upward, as was the custom. In the course of subsequent building activities a slab floor had been laid only four inches above the trunk. Necessarily the raised knees had offered an obstacle to its construction. In consequence the builders twisted off the legs and threw them down along the right side of the torso. Doubtless they also removed the baskets and other burial offerings which had been visible above the wrappings. It was just before midday when I lifted the blanket-swathed trunk from its age-old resting place and laid it, with more disgust than reverence, upon a near-by ledge. Throughout the noon hour my thoughts were filled with sentiments more forceful than polite concerning the vandals who had deprived us of the spoils which I felt certain had been placed with the carefully wrapped remains. Lunch over, as we waited for the blood to cease pounding in our ears after the climb from the valley floor to the cave, ()wens, my helper for nearly a decade, said, "Let's see what is under that blanket." 1 raised one edge of it and gave a shout that was occasioned not by pain or disappointment. Encircling the withered left wrist was a cuff five inches wide, composed of 200 perfectly matched Olivella shells with a single set of extraordinarily tine turquoise at the center. This time the laugh was on our side, for the robbers had overlooked an unusually handsome ornament and one unique among archeological material from the Southwest (see page 298). "THE BURIAL OF THE HANDS" In another portion of the cave we came upon "The Burial of the Hands." On a bed of grass, side by side, with palms uppermost, lay the ligament-bound hands and forearms of an adult. The severed elbows touched the wall of the cyst, thus proving that the burial as it was found was complete, and that the rest of the body had never been included in the interment. Touching one radius were two pairs of unworn sandals with patterns in black and red, probably the most exquisite specimens of their kind that have survived for the inspection of modern man. Against |
