TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Footnote anchors are denoted by [number],and the footnotes have been placed at the end of the book.
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SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY
BULLETIN 41
ANTIQUITIES OF THE MESA VERDE
NATIONAL PARK
SPRUCE-TREE HOUSE
BY
JESSE WALTER FEWKES
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1909
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
Smithsonian Institution,
Bureau of American Ethnology,
Washington, D. C., January 4, 1909.
Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith for publication, withyour approval, as Bulletin 41 of this Bureau, the report of Dr. JesseWalter Fewkes on the work of excavation and repair of Spruce-treecliff-ruin in the Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. This wasundertaken, pursuant to your instructions, under the direction of theSecretary of the Interior, and a résumé of the general results accomplishedis published in the latter’s annual report for 1907-8. Thepresent paper is more detailed, and deals with the technical archeologicalresults.
It is gratifying to state that Doctor Fewkes was able to completethe work assigned him, and that Spruce-tree House—the largestruin in Mesa Verde Park with the exception of the Cliff Palace—isnow accessible for the first time, in all its features, to those who wouldview one of the great aboriginal monuments of our country. Thisis the more important since Spruce-tree House fulfills the requirementsof a “type ruin,” and since, owing to its situation, it is thecliff-dwelling from which most tourists obtain their first impressionsof structures of this character.
Respectfully, yours, W. H. Holmes, Chief.
The Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution,
Washington, D. C.
| Page | |
| Site of the ruin | 1 |
| Recent history | 2 |
| General features | 7 |
| Major antiquities | 8 |