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Show ORIGIN wee eal AND HISTORY OF FIRST INHABITANTS 39 The causes of the destruction of the great community houses have given rise to much speculation. Climatic changes and failure of water supply were undoubtedly a CAUSES OF DESTRUCTION OF factor in causing their abandonment THE PUEBLO HABITATIONS and consequent decay. There is also no doubt that epidemics may have At various intervals during the caused the abandonment of some. passing of the centuries many were destroyed and annihilated by a The consensus war-like and predatory race coming from the north. of opinion has been that the Pueblo Indian of today, but with admixture of alien blood, in all probability is the descendant of the original builder and inhabitant of some of the ancient communal This may be credited as to some of the ancient habitations, houses. but as to the inhabitants of other distinctly pre-Spanish, prehistoric ruins, I cannot say. Present investigation is not bringing any final conclusion other than that the Pueblo Indian of today may be related to the ancient communal house dwellers, but the degree of relationship has not been satisfactorily determined.” tion to the ancient people of the Rito until there is some further investigation of the question of their relationship. Exploratory trenches carried in every direction about the great community house of Ty-u-on-yi revealed no general community burial place such as we expect to find in close proximity to every great stone pueblo of this region.’’ 23 Hewitt, Dr. Edgar L., Antiquities of the Jemez Plateau, p. 12: ‘‘The ruins were the ancient habitations of Indian tribes some descendants of which are today living in the adjacent valley of the Rio Grande and its tributaries; but most of whom are probably dispersed widely over the south-west. In every existing Te-wa tribe (San Juan, Santa Clara, San Yldefonso, Nambé, and Tesuque) it is claimed that certain clans may be traced back through one or more migrations to the ruined pueblos and cliff-villages of the Pajarito plateau. The same may be said of the Keres villages (Cochiti, Santo Domingo, San Felipe, Santa Ana, and Zia).’’ As heretofore stated, Dr. Hewett is of the opinion that the dwellers of the communal houses were not altogether the ancestors of the present Pueblo Indians. He says: ‘‘Naturally, the first question that arises in the mind of every intelligent visitor to these cliff-dwellings, is —- Who were the people who built and lived in these peculiar homes? It has been customary to answer that these were simply the earlier homes of the Pueblo tribes now living in the villages near by. This answer must at least be qualified. It was accepted explorers on the evidence of surface appearances and the traditions Pueblo Indians. Subsequent observers merely follow the lead of the Extensive excavations made in recent years have brought to light evidence. Large by the earlier of the living predecessors. more reliable collections of ancient pottery have been compared with that of the modern Pueblos and but few similarities found in form, color, mode of ornamentation and symbolism. This, in itself, would not be conclusive evidence of lack of identity between the makers, but it is supported by the indisputable evidence of the anatomical characters of the people. The living Pueblo Indians |