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Show EVERYDAY LIFE IN PUEBLO BONITO 241 Photograph by O. C. Havens WHERE GRAVE-ROBBERS HAVE LEFT THEIR MARK have unearthed toy bowls, shaped and painted by skillful hands to serve as object- lessons for restless beginners. And how simple the task must have seemed, in these models lovingly prepared! YOUTHFUL PUEBLO BONITIANS HAD MANY PETS Childhood in Pueblo Bonito did not differ greatly from that of our own time. It had its tragedies and its joys. Only the environment varied. In their everyday life, the prehistoric toddlers of Chaco Canyon were not especially humored by their parents. Their childish desires were simple and easily satisfied. A cottonwood stick wrapped with a skirt of cedar bark or a cotton rag served as a doll. A knotted yucca leaf, a potsherd, or a feather on the end of a string became toys for a time. Pets, too, there were. Coyote pups to romp with and maul about; tethered ground squirrels, perhaps, and rabbits galore. Eagles and red-tailed hawks moped in wickered cages; imprisoned turkeys begged crumbs and sunflower seeds. Brilliant macaws from the tropical forests of Mexico-treasured clan totems, safely guarded by ritualists of the kiva-could not but excite the wonder and admiration of youthful eyes. And then there were always bright-colored stones to be counted and recounted and hidden again; butterflies to chase in summer and daubs of mud to throw when other amusements wearied. But daytime was not all playtime for the children of Pueblo Bonito! Little girls must needs tend still smaller brothers and sisters or assist in the ceaseless duties of the home; little boys had their share of work in the fields, planting seeds in early springtime and, later, nursing each individual plant through the hot months, until seasonable rains brought new life to parched gardens. Turning over hard, dry soil with sharp sticks was no easy task, even for full-grown muscles; pulling prickly weeds made hands sore ; guarding fields from destructive pests was a never-ending chore. Worms had to be hunted out and killed, lest the harvest be reduced through their insatiable appetites. At times grasshoppers came in countless hordes to eat the tender green leaves through which growing plants feed. And |