One of the largest concentrations of very early material at Canyon de
Chelly came from Big Cave (Tse-Ya-Tso) in Canyon del Muerto. Tree-ring
dates ranging from A.D. 331 to 835 indicate an intensive occupation of
the site in Basketmaker times.
Several burials of interest were found at Big Cave. One was of an old
man who had broken both legs across the shin bones. The fractures were
set so well that only the smallest of bumps were left.
The remains of 14 infants were found in a slab-lined cist used earlier
as a storage bin. Below the infants were the bodies of four other
children packed in an enormous basket. None showed any signs of
violence, and it is thought that some disease must have swept through
the cave, killing many children in a short time.
The unique “Burial of the Hands” was discovered in another part of Big
Cave. This burial consisted of just a pair of arms and hands lying side
by side on a bed of grass. The elbows touched the wall of the cave in a
way that suggested that the rest of the body had not been removed at a
later time. Three necklaces of abalone shell pendants were wrapped
around the wrists, and two pairs of exceptionally fine, unworn sandals,
patterned in black and red, were lying beside the hands, as was a small
basket half full of white shell beads. Another basket nearly 2 feet in
diameter covered the burial. No satisfactory explanation of this burial
has ever been advanced.
[Illustration: Excavations at Big Cave in Canyon del Muerto yielded
valuable artifacts of the Basketmaker period.]
[Illustration: Mummy Cave, bathed in sun with its flanking ruins
almost hidden in shadows.]