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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Stewart L. Udall, _Secretary_
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
Conrad L. Wirth, _Director_
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_HISTORICAL HANDBOOK NUMBER THIRTY-SIX_
This publication is one of a series of handbooks describing the
historical and archeological areas in the National Park System
administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the
Interior. It is printed by the Government Printing Office and may be
purchased from the Superintendent of Documents, Washington 25, D.C.
Price 30 cents
AZTEC RUINS
NATIONAL MONUMENT · _New Mexico_
by John M. Corbett
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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HISTORICAL HANDBOOK SERIES NO. 36
Washington, D.C., 1962
_The National Park System, of which Aztec Ruins National Monument is a
unit, is dedicated to conserving the scenic, scientific, and historic
heritage of the United States for the benefit and enjoyment of its
people._
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_Contents_
_Page_
MAN IN THE SAN JUAN VALLEY 1
Early Hunters and Gatherers 3
The Basketmakers 7
The Pueblos 11
The Aztec Pueblo 18
EXPLORATIONS AND EXCAVATIONS 35
THE AZTEC RUINS TODAY 51
THE NATURAL SCENE 61
ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION 64
RELATED AREAS 66
SUGGESTED READINGS 66
[Illustration: Frontispiece. A hunting scene of 10,000 years ago.]
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_Man in the San Juan Valley_
The San Juan River and its tributaries drain the region known as the
Four Corners country—the area surrounding the point where New Mexico,
Colorado, Utah, and Arizona meet in a common boundary at right angles.
Rising high in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, the San Juan flows
southwestward to dip down into the northwestern corner of New Mexico;
then it courses northwestward into Utah almost at the point of juncture
of the four states. With many twists and curves, roaring through deep
canyons and gulches, it proceeds generally westward to empty into the
mighty Colorado River in the southeastern part of Utah.
The San Juan Basin is the major drainage basin of the Four Corners
country. As such, its lower reaches formed a formidable barrier to
travel by migrant primitive groups and to early white settlers as well.
Its upper portions, however, especially its tributaries, were easier of
access and supplied that most important element of all for life in the
desert: water—water for drinking, water for irrigation.
The land between the tributaries is highly diversified; much is arid or
semiarid with small streams running intermittently or with scattered
springs that may be dry during parts of the year. Other areas are
mountainous with swift-flowing streams. In places there are mesas, or
large tablelands, which frequently are covered with forests of pine,
juniper, and pinyon. It is a land of warm, often hot, summers and cool,
sometimes very cold, winters; a land of sharp contrasts; a land that
seems perpetual, yet never appears exactly the same on any two
successive days.
Into this area many hundreds of years ago, possibly even thousands, came
small bands of wandering hunters. Gradually some of them learned how to
adapt to the rigors of the land. Eventually two centers arose in which
the local inhabitants successfully adjusted to their environment: one
along the Chaco Wash in northwestern New Mexico, and the second in
southwestern Colorado in many places on the La Plata, Mancos, and McElmo
drainages. Chaco, the first of these cultural manifestations, takes its
name from the best known and finest examples of such ruins in Chaco
Canyon National Monument. The other is best known at, and named for, the
area incorporated in Mesa Verde National Park.
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On the northern side of the San Juan, most of its tributaries are
perennially flowing streams and rivers, with broad, fertile valleys and
bountiful plant and animal resources nearby. On one of these streams,
the Animas, there existed a series of prehistoric towns and villages
which exemplify the successful blending of cultural influences from both
the major centers of Chaco and Mesa Verde. This is the general story of
the San Juan River area, of the people who lived there long ago, and in
particular the story of the great ruined pueblo on the Animas River near
the present-day town of Aztec, N. Mex.
EARLY HUNTERS AND GATHERERS.
Ten thousand years ago, a small band of weary, footsore, hungry hunters
cautiously approached a few bison which they had managed to stampede
away from the main herd. Ten in number, the bison had finally paused to
drink at a small spring in a rincon of the canyon wall and to graze upon
the thick, tall grass. For a day and a half, the hunters had carefully
followed the large, hairy mammals, hoping the beasts would lose their
sense of danger and allow themselves to be boxed into a place where the
hunters could approach close enough to kill them.
At last the moment was at hand! Warily, two hunters crawled along the
slope of the canyon wall from opposite sides, seeking places from which
they could throw large rocks upon the animals or hurl their spears with
devastating force. Patiently five more hunters waited below, concealed
by the tall grass or behind convenient boulders. When the first two were
in place, the leader gave the signal. Rocks came crashing down on the
startled bison; spears whistled through the air and thudded into soft
flesh; one or two missed, but most found their targets. Shouts and cries
filled the air. The bison, caught by surprise, whirled and milled around
the waterhole for a moment, then several broke for the open country. One
was wounded, the spear in its flank bobbing like a wave-tossed spindle.
On this animal the hunters concentrated; three more spears found their
target, and the great beast went down thrashing wildly. Two other
animals lay maimed at the waterhole; one young calf, hobbling painfully,
tried to get away to the open country but was quickly dispatched. The
remaining six bison disappeared through the thickets and tall grass to
the west.
The animals which were down but not dead were swiftly killed with spear
thrusts through the eyes. Then the assembled hunters fell to the most
important task of all. With quick strokes of their razor-sharp stone
knives, they carefully peeled away the hide from one of the carcasses.
The soft inner parts—the heart, kidneys, and liver—they immediately cut
into pieces and ate raw on the spot, for they had not tasted meat for
many days. In fact, for the last several days on the hunt, they had
subsisted entirely on the few edible plants and roots they could easily
find while tracking the bison. Now great chunks of meat were cut from
the flanks and likewise consumed raw, until each hunter could eat no
more. Then the men gathered up their weapons—long wooden spears with
carefully made chipped flint or obsidian points. Some of the points were
so deeply buried in the bodies that they broke loose from the shafts
when the men tried to pry them free. Other shafts had broken, leaving
the points embedded when the bison thrashed about trying to escape the
sudden devastation. This was of minor concern—new shafts could be made,
new points fashioned. It was more important that once again there was
meat enough to go around for the hunters, their mates, and their
children.
[Illustration: Spear point and foreshaft. Length 8″.]
Now surfeited, the hunters dozed quietly in the shade out of the noonday
sun. But not for long, for they must bring the rest of the band to
participate in the feast. One hunter started back to the last camp where
the women and children waited, existing on the remnants of the last kill
and whatever edible plants, roots, nuts, and berries they might be able
to find nearby. The other hunters proceeded with the skinning of the
animals. To build a fire, one man found a dry log, in which he made a
small hole with his stone knife. He sharpened another dry but tougher
stick. Thrusting this into the hole, he twirled it rapidly between his
hands until he built up sufficient friction to make a few small sparks
in the log. These he deftly transferred to a little dry tinder, the
flame of which he carefully nursed until twigs and branches could be
added to make a real blaze. The fire would be welcome in the evening,
for the days were getting shorter and the nights colder. When the women
and children arrived, they would make crude lean-to or windbreak
structures to help break the cold night winds from the north. They would
scrape, clean, and dry the bison skins so that as the band headed
southward, they would have the warm skins to wrap themselves in at
night. During the day, while hunting or working around the camp, they
needed little in the way of clothing—just simple loincloths. On damp,
rainy days—and there seemed too many of these—brush shelters, fires, and
the warm skins of the animals they had killed were sufficient.
By now the vultures were circling overhead, but it would be several days
before these carrion birds could feast on what little might remain of
the kill. The hunters and the rest of the band would stay at this spot
until all the meat was exhausted, rancid as it might become. Then once
again they would take up their spears and start after more game. This
time they would head toward the south, for with the shortening days
winter was coming, and the game was going south. But they would worry
about the next hunt later. In the meantime all was well. It was a time
for relaxation and rejoicing—they had food for many days; they had
water; soon they would have shelter; and this was without doubt the best
of all possible worlds in which to live.
Of course, such a scene is imaginary, but it could have taken place
about 10,000 years ago, almost anywhere among the valley and canyon
bottoms of what is now known as the Four Corners country of the
Southwest. The great continental ice sheets never got this far south,
and 10,000 years ago they were already retreating northward from their
farthest expansion. Yet smaller glaciers in some of the surrounding
mountains were also shrinking, and the general climate of the area must
have been far different than it is today. No doubt it was colder and
damper, with more rain and many swamps, lagoons, and lakes abounding in
game animals and birds of all varieties. With a colder climate, the
scenery too did not resemble that of today. High grasslands, extensive
hardwood forests, and full-flowing streams and rivers characterized the
region. The general land formations, however—the mountains, canyons,
mesas, and plateaus—had been formed long millenia before, and as short a
time as 10,000 years ago they would have been very much as they are
today.
Geologists believe that after the last of the four great continental
glaciations (i.e. the Wisconsin) there were three broad climatic periods
over most of the western United States. These are called the Anathermal,
which was cool and moist, becoming gradually warmer; the Altithermal,
which was exceptionally dry; and the Medithermal, a relatively cool,
moist period which is still in progress. Our imaginary tale about the
hunters, if it had taken place, would have occurred during the
Anathermal period.
These variations in climate have been determined by studying old stream
terraces (streams cut deeper when there is more water, and they can
carry a greater load of abrasive sands and gravels); old beach levels
around ancient lakes (such as are prominent today around the Great Salt
Lake in Utah); and ancient annual lake deposits of fine silts which form
thin bands, or varves. Studies of animal life, both vertebrate and
invertebrate, and plant life are important, for some life forms can
exist only under certain limited climatic conditions. Bones and shells
found in various deposits may help to indicate the type of climate
existing when they were laid down. Plant fragments, pollen grains, and
diatoms (microscopic plants with siliceous skeletons), are clues in
telling the story of prehistoric times.
What the early hunters may have looked like no one really knows, for
archeologists so far have not found a single undisputed trace of their
physical remains. Skeletal fragments of what might be early man in this
country have turned up in several places, but usually geologists,
archeologists, and others cannot agree as to just how ancient these
remains might be. One of the most likely candidates for the distinction
of “earliest man” yet found in America was discovered in 1953 near
Midland, Tex. Actually, these remains, which consist of parts of a skull
and fragments of other bones, were those of a female. They were found
under geologic conditions that might indicate considerable age and in
indirect association with types of artifacts which are dated, by other
means, as being of Folsom age or slightly more recent. Unfortunately,
since radiocarbon dates on some of this material vary widely and the
local geology is so complicated, it is not positive that “Midland Man”
is the oldest known American.
Many anthropologists, however, believe that even the earliest
inhabitants of this country were of Asiatic descent and thus might well
have resembled some of the modern American Indians.
We do not even know if they used animal skins as clothing. With a rather
cool, damp climate, it can be assumed they had some sort of shelter and
some types of body covering, even if nothing more than generous
swabbings of bear grease. Today, near the tip of South America, a tribe
of Indians—the Ona—exist in a very damp, cold climate. Eating mostly
fish and sea mammals, they live in crude brush shelters and wear little
if any clothing most of the time. In Africa certain primitive Pygmy
tribes hunt game as large as giraffes with small bows and arrows. They
wound their quarry first and then follow it, often for days, until they
can bring down the weary animal at close range with their spears.
Perhaps that is how the early hunters in America survived. We cannot be
positive, but we do know that scattered around the Four Corners country
are a few sites where spear points, scrapers, and other implements have
been found under conditions indicating great antiquity. In other cases
throughout the greater Southwest, points have been found embedded in the
remains of slaughtered animals of now extinct species. Often these
remains are found in ancient swamps and waterholes, where it had been
possible to trap or mire the animals and finally kill them; the mucky
swampland has helped preserve the bones so that today the archeologist
can tell the story of how they were slaughtered.
As the glaciers disappeared and the climate became warmer, the lakes,
swamps, and lagoons gradually dried up, the grasslands became
desiccated, the hardwoods disappeared from the valley bottoms. Small
regional differences in climate, sometimes due to altitude, left some
areas more desirable than others. Large mammals disappeared entirely,
and the hunting and gathering people had to turn to smaller types of
game such as elk, deer, rabbit, bear, and rodents. No doubt wild edible
plants, berries, fruits, nuts, and even roots were gathered and eaten.
In the Four Corners country, however, evidence for occupation by man
during the Altithermal (or second post-glacial period) is almost
entirely lacking. This was an exceptionally dry period, and few if any
people could live there. It wasn’t until the climate became wetter and
cooler again, more like it is today, that man once again inhabited the
Four Corners area in any great numbers.