Possibly a great epidemic, of the sort known to have swept Mexico before
the coming of the Spaniard, gravely cut down the numbers of the ancient
valley settlers. Near every communal castle is to be found a cemetery,
filled with burial urns, their tops usually less than a foot below the
surface. These urns (ollas) are filled with calcined human bones. By them
are to be found the broken pottery, of which the spirits were to
accompany the late lamented on their journey to the happy hunting
grounds. These dishes once contained food, intended for the spirit
travelers' nourishment. When there was a child, ofttimes now is found
the clay image of a dog, for a dog always knows the way home. The dog is
believed to have been the only domestic animal of the time.
In some cases, in the greater houses, walled into crypts that might have
served as family lounging places, have been found the skeletons of those
who were of esoteric standing, considered able, by the force of will, to
separate spirit from body. In other cases the cleansing and
disintegrating effects of fire secured the necessary separation of the
spirit from the body.
With these mortuary evidences also are found domestic implements, stone
clubs, arrow points and, particularly valuable, prayer sticks and
religious implements that clearly show the archaeologist a connection
with the pueblo-dwelling peoples who still live, under similar communal
conditions, to the northward.