VOLUME 63, NUMBER 10
ARCHEOLOGY OF THE LOWER MIMBRES
VALLEY, NEW MEXICO
PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
1914
BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A.
ARCHEOLOGY OF THE LOWER MIMBRES VALLEY,
NEW MEXICO
Evidences of the existence of a prehistoric population in the Lower Mimbres Valley, New Mexico, have been accumulating for many years, but there is little definite knowledge of its culture and kinship. It is taken for granted, by some writers, that the ancient people of this valley lived in habitations resembling the well-known terraced dwellings called pueblos, many of which are still inhabited along the Rio Grande; but this theory presupposes that there was a close likeness in the prehistoric architectural remains of northern and southern New Mexico. It may be said that while there were many likenesses in their culture, the prehistoric inhabitants of these two regions possessed striking differences, notably in their architecture, their mortuary customs, and the symbolic ornamentation of their pottery.
As the former inhabitants of the Mimbres Valley have left no known descendants of pure blood, and as there is a scarcity of historical records, we must rely on a study of archeological remains to extend our knowledge of the subject. Much data of this kind has already been lost, for while from time to time numerous instructive relics of this ancient culture have been found, most of these objects have been treated as "curios" and given away to be carried out of the country, and thus lost to science. Some of these relics belong to a type that it is difficult to duplicate. For instance, it is particularly to be regretted that the numerous votive offerings to water gods, including fossil bones, found when the "sacred spring" at Faywood near the Mimbres was cleaned out, have not been studied and described by some competent archeologist. The arrowheads, lance-points, and "cloud-blowers" from this spring are particularly fine examples, the most important objects of the collection being now in the cabinet of Mrs. A. R. Graham of Chicago.1
2
The valley of the Mimbres has never been regarded as favorable to archeological studies, but has practically been overlooked, possibly because of the more attractive fields in the region